


Into the Field

by VinEsquire



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2014-02-27
Packaged: 2018-01-13 23:45:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 36,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1244761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VinEsquire/pseuds/VinEsquire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a slightly parallel universe, U.S.S. Voyager has a Starfleet JAG prosecutor and a platoon of MARCOs (Marine Commandos) assigned to help capture the maquis. As the maquis are integrated into Voyager's crew, the MARCOs must adapt to the situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Invisible

Chapter 1: Invisible

 

Counselor Vallicent W. Shin sat silently in his stateroom. What had he gotten himself into? The young man tried to compose himself before having his meeting with the captain.

"Counselor, please meet me in the briefing room," came the captain's voice from the young man's combadge.

He tapped his combadge. "Acknowledged."

Val walked out of the room, thinking about the events that had led to his situation. Three weeks ago, he was sitting at his desk, dutifully filling out paperwork. His superior walked into the office and informed him that it was Val's turn on the rotation to take a field assignment. Val didn't mind. In fact, he looked forward to doing some field work and getting out of his office.

Val's temporary assignment was to oversee fugitive retrieval operations onboard the U.S.S. Voyager, which was assigned to track down a particular maquis ship and capture a former Starfleet officer turned traitor named Chakotay. Val's job was to make sure that the captured traitors were properly treated before being handed over to Starfleet authorities for trial. He would also oversee the interrogations that took place on Voyager, if any occurred before prisoner transfer.

Unfortunately, what was originally supposed to be a temporary assignment was greatly extended. To a whopping 75 years, even at maximum warp. While chasing Chakotay's maquis raider, Voyager had been taken far from home, into the Delta Quadrant.

Val finally reached the door to the conference room. He took a deep breath, and walked into the room. There, seated at the table were Captain Kathryn Janeway and Vice Captain Chakotay, the ship's new second-in-command.

"Please, take a seat," said the Captain.

"Thank you, captain," said Val as he took his seat.

"Counselor, how long have you been a JAG prosecutor?" asked the Captain.

"About a year. Before my current posting, I was assigned to Starfleet's environmental research division as junior compliance counsel."

"Well, counselor," said Janeway. "I don't really have a need for a lawyer on this ship."

Val looked down. "Yes, sir. Um... I mean, yes, ma'am."

"Counselor, Captain is fine."

"Where do you think you'd fit in on this ship?" asked Chakotay.

"I'm not quite sure." Val knew that the captain would have to assign him some type of duty. He didn't really have any knowledge of the engineering systems onboard, and that was the specialty that was most lacking. Val also knew that Voyager needed a medic, and was short on flight control officers. But Val had no medical background, and Tom Paris was recently re-instated as a Lieutenant and assigned as flight control officer.

"We'll get to that later," said Janeway. "What I want to discuss is this." She waved her padd, and then slid it across the desk to Val.

Val picked it up, and read it. Incident report SBA-2236.

"What happened?" asked the Captain.

"It's in the report," responded Val.

"You sent three crewmembers to sickbay. One with serious internal injuries," said Chakotay.

"Yes."

"Why shouldn't I put you in the brig for that?" asked Janeway.

"It is the three crewmembers in sickbay who should be put in the brig."

"Why? Because they were maquis?" asked Chakotay.

"Permission to speak freely?" asked Val, turning to face the Captain.

"Granted," said Janeway, curious to hear what the young lieutenant had to say.

"First, I strongly believe the maquis traitors all belong in prison, including the man sitting next to you right now."

Chakotay was about to interject, but Janeway put up her hand to signal that she wanted to hear more.

"Go on," she said.

"That being said, I do not roam about picking fights with random people, even if they are scum-sucking traitors. Those three men are in sickbay because they attacked me first. They thought they'd have some fun. I took the action necessary and even called for medical attention once the altercation was over."

Janeway slid another padd in front of Val. They contained the Doctor's medical reports.

"Overkill, don't you think?" asked the Captain.

"No ma'am. It was the appropriate amount of 'kill.' I took the necessary action to ensure they no longer represented a danger to me."

"These injuries. They are not consistent with injuries suffered by attackers. If anything, I'd think you were the attacker," said Chakotay. He hard a hard time believing that three of his men would lose a fair fight to one man, unless the one was the initial aggressor and had the element of surprise.

"Ask your men when they wake up in sickbay. I doubt the little traitors will tell the truth, but listen to their concocted story, and then evaluate it against their injuries. See whose story is more consistent," said Val defiantly.

"No need," said Janeway. "One of them awoke several minutes before you arrived." Chakotay was surprised. He had not been informed.

"The crewman admitted that one of his friends started the physical altercation. However, I must ask, do you not think you used excessive force?" asked the captain.

"No ma'am, I do not. I'm a lawyer. A prosecutor, no less. I know where the line is between proper force and excessive force. I did not cross that line."

Janeway was a little frustrated by the response. She slid yet another padd to Val.

"Now, let's talk about this." It was Incident Report SBA-2227, from a week before.

"This incident report interests me," said Janeway.

"I'm glad I entertain you," said Val sarcastically.

"You, lieutenant, will watch your tone. Understood?"

"Yes, captain. Sorry captain."

"In this particular incident, one week prior, you exhibit sympathy towards a maquis member."

"I showed sympathy to a human being," retorted Val. "Regardless of whether she was a maquis traitor, all human beings are entitled to a level of dignity."

"You seemed more protective of this one though," said Janeway, with slight curiosity in her voice. "Many other maquis have been roughed up, some in your presence. Yet this is the only time you've intervened."

"Maybe I'm a sexist and I think all girls are fragile and unable to take care of themselves," said Val, by now getting annoyed at the Captain's questions.

"No, that's not quite it," said Janeway, still curious. She smiled. For some reason, the young lieutenant was trying his best to annoy her. The best way to counter that was to not act annoyed. "Regardless, that's not what I wanted to discuss. Do you remember what action you took?"

"It's in the report," said Val.

"It says here that you dressed down the three MARCOs who were bullying maquis crewman DuPont."

Karen Kelly DuPont. KKD. Val's object of affection for over three months before he had the guts to tell her. The two of them went to law school together. After he had confessed his feelings, she had told him that she saw him as just a friend, and would never see him as anything else. He had been crushed, but told her he was perfectly fine.

"Nobody challenges a MARCO," said Chakotay. "And yet you did." MARCOs were Starfleet's landing soldiers. An abbreviation for Marine Commandos, MARCOs tended to be some of the toughest Starfleet personnel. Their uniforms were slightly different. Similar to Fleet uniforms, they were mostly black. However, instead of the red/beige/blue scheme on the shoulders, the MARCOs had gray. Their collars were black. On Captain Janeway's mission to capture Chakotay, Starfleet Command had decided to post a platoon of MARCOs on Voyager in case the maquis were chased to a planetary base of operations. In general, Fleet crewmen kept their distance from the MARCOs.

"I felt it was the right thing to do," said Val.

"You're lucky they didn't rip you in half," said Chakotay. "One of them was about twice your size!"

Val had always been very aware that he was relatively short. Standing at 5'6" he was about 4 inches shorter than the average male. And physically, Val was not as built as the average male MARCO.

"That," said Janeway, "is what I want to discuss. Why did the MARCOs not harm you?"

"Ma'am?"

"The MARCOs have been a real problem for me, Counselor. They roam about this ship as if they are above the law. They have no respect for authority. They've engaged in multiple melees, mostly against maquis members. And when my security officers intervene to break up the fights, the MARCOs have turned on my officers. I can't count the number of sickbay visits the MARCOs have caused."

"That doesn't surprise me," responded Val.

"Explain," said Janeway.

"Do you really need me to spell it out?"

"Humor me."

"First of all, MARCOs respect authority, just not yours. That's always been the way things are."

"I've served with MARCOs before," said Janeway. "I never had any problems."

"MARCOs and Fleet don't mix, even though both organizations are run by Starfleet Command. MARCOs are soldiers. Every time they need to get to a battle, Fleet always gives them a ride. But that's it. And after the battle, a ship comes to pick them up. MARCOs have no respect for Fleet officers because Fleet officers don't fight in combat."

"Okay," said Janeway. She had heard about such attitudes carried by the MARCOs, but never thought it was that strong.

"Moreover, the MARCOs' mission, and your mission, Captain, was to capture the traitors. And here the traitors are, running around free. That's enough to get them steamed. Even if it wasn't the MARCOs' mission, they would still have problems getting along with traitors."

"Counselor," said Janeway, trying to mask her annoyance. "Please refrain from using the word traitor. You will use the word maquis from now on."

"No ma'am, I certainly will not," said a defiant Lieutenant Shin. "I will call them what they are."

Janeway was frustrated. She would deal with the young counselor later, perhaps in a one-on-one setting without Chakotay present.

"Back to my initial question, lieutenant," Janeway was going to refer to the young officer as a lieutenant from now on, hoping to repeatedly remind him that she outranked him. "Why were you unharmed? If any of my security officers had challenged a MARCO, the MARCOs would not have complied. Yet, not only did you leave unscathed, but it seems that the three MARCOs immediately complied and left DuPont alone. I'm curious, why is that?"

"You'd have to ask them, ma'am. I cannot speak for the internal motivations of other people."

"Venture a guess, lieutenant," said the Captain, in a tone that suggested it was an order.

"During officer training, I was paired with Brevet Major Douglas in boarding tactics."

"Major Douglas?" asked Chakotay.

"Douglas was the former MARCO platoon commander. He was one of the recent casualties," explained Janeway.

"Yes," said Val silently. "Douglas and I trained for three months. I was the Fleet cavalry pilot trainee assigned to fly the landing craft for the MARCO landing training missions and SEAL vessel boarding missions. Douglas served as cadet squad leader."

"So, the MARCOs get along with at least one "squid," it would seem," said Janeway approvingly. MARCOs often called Fleet officers squids. It was a tradition dating back from when Earth's ocean-going navies carried marines on ships.

"I'm not sure I would say that," said Val. "Although, the platoon sergeant seems to have a positive opinion of me. Maybe one or two others. I don't know about the rest."

"Here's the thing, lieutenant. I want the MARCOs out of my way," said Janeway.

"Captain?" said Val, wondering what Janeway meant by that.

"Oh yes. They are enough of a thorn in my side for me to have actually thought about marooning them on some random planet. However... I will not do that. But I do need for them to stay out of the way. At the very least, I need them confined so that they do not start fights with either the maquis or even my own people."

Val was about to say something, but stopped short. He remained silent, but was visibly disturbed.

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Yes, for the rest of this conversation, you may presume that you have permission to speak freely."

"It would be a grave mistake to antagonize the MARCOs. You NEED them."

"The MARCOs were assigned to help me capture the maquis. Since that is no longer an objective of mine, I no longer need them."

"Ma'am," said Val as he gave a quick glance towards Chakotay and then looked away. "I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but it's been spread amongst the crew that the maquis crewmembers are going to mutiny fairly soon. You will need the MARCOs to protect you."

"You doubt the effectiveness of Lieutenant Tuvok and his security force?"

Val was about to ask for permission to speak again, but he remembered he didn't have to.

"With all due respect, captain, a unified maquis could easily overrun your security forces. And Voyager's science and engineering staff? A squad of three MARCOs could probably take them all down. Your ship is in danger every second you let the maquis roam about."

Chakotay glanced at Janeway. She nodded, as if giving him permission to speak.

"Counselor, I was well aware of the rumors floating about. I have assured the captain that if any maquis members attempt to mutiny, I would put them in the brig myself."

"Sir," said Val. "With all due respect, even if it were true that you yourself do not wish to lead a mutiny, do you truly think you have enough influence over the rest of the maquis? Can you even name one of them who is not displeased with the current situation? I'm telling you right now, they are going to rebel. In significant numbers, if not entirely."

"Lieutenant," said the Captain. "I realize your concern, but I think we have this under control. I will not lock the maquis in the brig. I am leaving the situation in Vice Captain Chakotay's capable hands."

Val was somewhat disappointed, but he had a strong feeling the captain wouldn't see reason.

Janeway added, "Nor will I confine the MARCOs. In any event, I have a task for you."

Val was listening intently, although he had a feeling he was not going to like what he was about to hear.

"I need you to keep the MARCOs in line. I know that they will probably never accept Tuvok as their superior officer. But you're right, I may need the MARCOs to supplement my security force one day. While I have faith the maquis are not going to mutiny, I don't know what situations might come up here in the Delta Quadrant. I'd rather have the MARCOs on my side just in case."

"How do you suggest I keep them line, ma'am?" asked Val.

"The MARCOs lost their platoon commander. Since they need a new one, I'm making you it."

"Captain! That's insane. I'm not a MARCO."

"Yes, but you're not a legal counselor. At least, not anymore. I have no use for one. I need you to pick up a different role, and platoon commander is it."

"But captain, I'm a Fleet officer. Surely I'd be more suited for something else."

"Lieutenant, tell me what you're suited for besides legal. Can you be an engineer? A scientist? It seems to me that you can best serve this ship by assuming leadership of the MARCOs. And most importantly, keeping the MARCOs out of my hair."

"Captain, I recommend against this. Instead, you should have the platoon sergeant retain command. Staff Sergeant Nathan Driver is a capable leader."

"Here's the thing, Val," said Janeway. It was the first time she referred to him by his first name, instead of by his rank. "None of the MARCOs, including Sergeant Driver, respects my authority as much as you do. Even considering the way you've spoken to me in this very conversation, at the very least you've asked for my permission to speak freely. I also have no doubt that you will ultimately obey any direct order I give you. I cannot say the same for any of the MARCOs. On the flip side of the coin, the MARCOs appear to respect you more than any other Fleet officer. I need you as my middle man, Val. I need you to keep them in line."

"But captain, you can't just make me a MARCO. They know I'm not one of them."

"Why not? You're a Starfleet lieutenant. That's the equivalent of a MARCO brevet major. I can transfer your rank and we'll be set."

"No, captain. The MARCOs won't accept that. I'm not one of them. It'll appear to them as a slap in the face."

"Fine, then you'll keep your Starfleet commission and rank, and I'll place you as their platoon commander regardless."

"I don't think they'll go for that. You'll basically take whatever respect they have for me now and shoot it out an airlock. There has to be another way."

"I'm open to suggestions. How do you think I should handle this?"

Val thought for about half a minute.

"How 'bout you keep Sergeant Driver in charge?"

"We've already been through this, Lieutenant," said a semi-frustrated Janeway.

"No, hear me out. If you really want some modicum of control over the MARCOs, they have to be led by a MARCO. You can't inject someone else into their leadership. But... how about you just give me a randomly created title. Like "Fleet-MARCO liaison." It can be my job to oversee their actions. Does that work?"

Janeway was a little surprised. In fact, after thinking about it for a minute, she was surprised she hadn't come up with the idea previously. It was Val's original assignment to oversee the Starfleet security personnel as they captured the maquis. Although Val was a prosecutor, his role on Voyager was oversight. The young lieutenant's suggestion appealed to the captain.

"Yes. Val, that works well. It's decided then."

"Thank you, captain. So all you want me to do is keep them from fighting the maquis?"

"And Fleet security, of course. I do not want to see any more incident reports with the acronym MARCO. In fact, I want to be able to not even know they're onboard. I want them to be invisible."

"Invisible?"

"Yes, lieutenant. Make that happen."

"Aye, captain."

"Dismissed."

Val stood up and turned to exit the room.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Val went to the mess hall to speak with Staff Sergeant Driver. With Driver were his two squad leaders, Sergeants Julie Hall and Michael Raines.

"Sergeant Driver, do you mind if I sit?" asked Val.

"Sir, please do." Driver was one of the few people who liked Val. Prior to being stranded in the Delta Quadrant, Major Douglas had introduced Driver to Val. The two got along despite the Fleet-MARCO animosity. Both were from regions of an ancient state called New York. Val was from Long Island and Driver was from upstate. Both were also interested in joining the sea-going navy and serving on submarines before eventually joining Starfleet.

"Nathan, I'm sorry about Aaron," said Val. Although the Val and Driver had passed each others in the hallways, this was the first time they've spoken since Aaron Douglas' death.

"Yes, sir. We all are," said Driver somberly.

"Look, I know that Aaron - I mean, Major Douglas - wasn't a big fan of Fleet. But, I also know that he would want you guys to get along. He wouldn't want the MARCOs brawling with ship's security."

"Sir, we've never engaged the Vulcan's men," said Sergeant Hall, referring to Tuvok as the Vulcan.

"Be that as it may, you've had fights with the maquis on numerous occasions, and most of the time security had to come in to break up the fight. I can't have that anymore."

"Sir?" asked Driver, curious as to what Val meant.

"The Captain wanted to abandon the MARCOs on some desolate planet. She said you guys are completely out of control."

"It's the Captain that's out of control!" interjected Sergeant Raines.

"While I may or may not agree with the Captain's decisions, in the end, she's the captain. I had to plead with her to keep you guys on board. She said she'd do it under one condition, that you guys behave yourselves. To that end, she has appointed me as the officer overseeing the MARCOs. If you have any problems or requests, run them through me. All that I ask is that you guys refrain from the confrontations with the maquis."

"The traitors?" asked Driver.

"Yes, the traitors," said Val. "She needs them more than she needs MARCOs, or so she believes. If the fights keep going on and she needs to pick a side, the MARCOs are going to wind up on the losing end."

The three sergeants were visibly mad. To think that the captain was more worried about annoying a bunch of traitors than respecting the MARCOs.

"Understood," said Driver reluctantly. "So I guess I report to you now?" he asked.

"Not exactly," said Val. "You report to nobody. I've asked that you retain command of the MARCOs and the Captain has agreed. I'm not your commanding officer, I'm just a liaison officer. However, if and when the MARCOs have any interaction with Fleet, then yes, you report to me."

"So us MARCOs will remain an independent entity?" asked Raines.

"Yes."

"And the Vulcan, he's okay with this?" asked Hall.

"I don't know about Tuvok, but Janeway is."

That was the first good bit of news the MARCO sergeants had heard in a while. They heard Janeway had wanted to bring the MARCOs within the security chief's command.

As Val and the three Sergeants continued to talk, a group of about 8 maquis crewmembers strolled into the mess hall. One of them was Karen DuPont. The group sat down at a table by the viewports. About half a minute later, three MARCOs approached the newly arrived group of maquis. They seemed to have been led by Corporal Lorenzo Rodriguez. It was the same MARCO that hassled Karen DuPont over a week ago. It appeared he was going to do so again. Val didn't know the corporal's name during that first incident, but he made it a point to learn all the names after Janeway tasked him to oversee the MARCOs.

The eight maquis got up to leave, but three other MARCOs took position between the group and the exit.

"We don't want any trouble," said one of the maquis.

The maquis tried to make their way to the door, but were pushed back. As KKD passed the corporal, he reached out and grabbed her arm. Two of her colleagues attempted to free her, but the other MARCOs forcefully pushed them aside.

Val had seen enough. He got up and approached the young corporal.

"Corporal Rodriguez, unhand her this instant," said Val sternly but calmly.

"But, sir," the corporal protested.

Val cut him off. "Do it. Now."

Rodriguez let go of Karen. But with that very same hand, he formed a fist and punched Val right in the face. Val reeled back, tripped on a chair, and fell backwards onto the floor. Rodriguez simply stood there, not knowing what to do. Sergeant Driver had knelt down to check on Val.

Multiple Starfleet personnel rushed into the mess hall. At the same time, the maquis quickly removed themselves from the situation.

"MARCOs, stand at attention!" ordered Raines. He wanted to avoid further chaos.

The 6 MARCO troopers in the mess hall stood straight, eyes forward.

"Vince, are you okay?" asked Tom Paris, one of the Starfleet officers that just arrived. Paris was now scanning Val with a medical tricorder.

"Yea, I'll be fine," Val answered. For some reason, Tom called Val "Vince." Val was going to ask him about that someday.

"I'll get Tuvok to throw Rodriguez in the brig right now," said Paris. One of the bystanders in the mess hall had told Tom that Val called his assailant Corporal Rodriguez prior to the punch.

Driver was dismayed. Not that it was ever okay to fight with a Fleet crewman, but thus far, the MARCOs only had altercations with lower ranking enlisted men. This was the first time a MARCO had physically assaulted an officer, which was a much more serious offense.

"No, that won't be necessary," said Val to Tom.

"Are you sure?" asked Tom as he helped Val get up on his feet.

"Yes. Thanks Tom."

Val turned to Driver, who was now getting in the face of Corporal Rodriguez.

"Sergeant Driver," said Val. "I want you to gather each and every one of your MARCOs and wait for me in your barracks."

"Aye, sir," responded the sergeant.

The platoon sergeant addressed his men.

"You heard the lieutenant. To the barracks. Now!" he yelled.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The platoon milled about restlessly in their barracks.

Voyager's Cargo Bay 3 had been partially converted into barracks for most of the MARCOs. Major Douglas had his own quarters. The two squad leaders shared a cabin on Deck 9. The rest of the MARCOs slept in bunk beds at the barracks.

"I can't believe that every time I try to get at DuPont, that annoying squid lieutenant always gets in the way," a frustrated Rodriguez said to one of his teammates.

Corporal Rodriguez was the team leader for fire team Charlie, of the platoon's 1st Squad. Each team consisted of one corporal and three privates.

"You're lucky they didn't throw you in the brig," said one of the privates. "I can't believe you struck an officer."

Rodriguez knew better than that. During his first encounter with Val, one of the other corporals had gently pulled him away. But even if that didn't happen, he wouldn't have hit Val.

"You're lucky I don't bust you down to Private and assign a new team leader," said Sergeant Hall, Rodriguez' Squad leader. She just joined in on the discussion. She was in charge of 1st Squad, which had three teams.

Just then, Val walked into the cargo bay.

"Platoon! Atten-shun!" barked Sergeant Driver.

The 26 members of the platoon stood at attention and intently waited for their next order.

"Fall in!" said Driver.

The platoon fell into formation. Facing the platoon, Sergeant Driver saw First Squad lined up on his right side, in three rows of four, representing the three fire teams. Second Squad did the same, lining up on the left side. Usually, a platoon would have three squads, but this platoon was down-sized for the Voyager mission. The two squad leaders, Sergeants Hall and Raines, stood in front of their respective squads, facing forward.

Driver did an about face. As Val approached him, Driver did a hand salute.

"Sir, all MARCOs present and accounted for."

"Outstanding, sergeant," said Val. He returned the salute. Val approached closer to Driver and whispered. "Sergeant, you do not need to salute me. Thank you for the gesture though."

Driver nodded in acknowledgment. He did another about face so that he was facing the platoon.

Val slowly paced for a few steps, examining the platoon of MARCOs standing there.

"At ease, MARCOs."

It seemed like several of the MARCOs were hesitant. They were not accustomed to taking orders from a Fleet officer. While the MARCOs always showed courtesy and respect to Fleet officers, obeying orders was different. But, once all the MARCOs saw their two squad leaders standing at ease, the rest of the platoon followed.

Val started to address the platoon. He was slightly nervous. The last time he addressed a large number of people was back in law school when he played a judge in a court simulation. But, during officer training, his professors had said he was a relatively good speaker.

"As I was discussing with your platoon sergeant right before I was rudely punched in the face, Captain Janeway is at her wits end hearing about all the fights and mayhem some of you MARCOs have caused."

Val held up a padd and read briefly through the incident reports compiled by Lt. Tuvok.

"A total of 17 altercations between the MARCOs and the maquis. Fifteen of those were initiated by a MARCO. Out of the 27 of you standing here, 21 of you have been involved in an incident. More than half of you have been involved in multiple incidents."

After pausing for about 10 seconds and pacing a bit, Val finally gave his first order.

"This nonsense has to stop."

After another 5 seconds, Val started to explain the situation.

"Captain Janeway has made an ultimatum. If any of the MARCOs shows up on an incident report again, she will maroon all of you on a nearby planet and warp away."

Val saw many of the MARCO shifting uneasily.

"I've convinced her to have a little bit more patience with all of you. To that end, she has made all of you my responsibility. If you have any problems with any members of the crew, you bring it up your chain of command and they will bring it to me. This includes any members of the maquis who are now integrated into Voyager's crew. Do I make myself clear?"

"Five by five, sir!" responded Sergeant Driver, in military jargon which meant loud and clear.

Val had expected all of the MARCOs to respond, but it was enough for him that their leader did.

Corporal Rodriguez took a step forward.

"Sir!" he said.

Walking over to the corporal, Val stopped when he was a couple feet facing him.

"Permission to speak freely?" asked the corporal.

"De-nied," said Val, forcefully. Part of him was simply trying to gauge the level of obedience of the MARCOs. Another part of him wanted to piss off the corporal.

Rejected, the corporal stepped back in line.

In a low voice, Val told the corporal, "look, if you have a real problem, I'll deal with it. Tell your sergeant and she'll come to me if she thinks it deserves my attention. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," answered Rodriguez, in an equally low voice.

Val walked back up to the front of the room. Addressing the entire platoon, he told them what he expected.

"For now, only as a temporary thing, the entire platoon is confined to decks 9 through 15. Stay away from the mess hall unless otherwise authorized. The restrictions will be lifted in the near future, but for now, I need a cooling off period so that you and the maquis have time to let your tempers die down. I will personally insist that you guys get more freedoms later on. As for now, Janeway doesn't want any MARCO to pop up on her radar. Lie low and keep to yourselves. In her exact words, she wants you to be invisible. Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" came the unified response of the entire platoon.

"Out-Standing," said Val, speaking with a quick pause after the first syllable, like a drill sergeant he once observed had done.

"Sergeant Driver, the platoon is yours."

As the sergeant called his platoon back to attention, Val left the cargo bay/barracks.


	2. Independence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Val Shin and the MARCOs leave Voyager for a new ship, the Vetara. This occurs after yet another scuffle between members of the maquis and the MARCOs, instigated by the Maquis Ensign Seska. The Vetara is a Cardassian Galor-class vessel that was modified to be an unmanned exploratory ship sent to the Gamma Quadrant to explore possible threats.

Val walked down the corridors of Deck 7. He was getting used to the internal layout of the U.S.S. Voyager. In his past, he had never served aboard a starship for longer than the summer tour between his third and fourth years at the Academy. His stay on Voyager might prove to be significantly longer than that.

It had been six weeks since Captain Janeway assigned him to be her liaison officer with the MARCOs on board. There had been no more incidents since then. However, he kept a standing request for the MARCOs to avoid the maquis. A few days ago, Janeway finally gave the MARCOs permission to move freely about the ship. Val hoped that wouldn't start the incidents again. He knew there were problems with specific people. He learned from Sergeant Julie Hall the exact nature of the animosity that Corporal Rodriguez had for Crewman DuPont of the maquis.

Rodriguez held DuPont as one of the maquis responsible for the death of his brother. Val initially had a hard time believing DuPont could be involved in such an event. However, he also would have never believed DuPont would join a traitorous organization such as the maquis. Yet here she was clearly a member of the group.

Rodriguez' brother, as well as 5 other Starfleet crewmen, had perished while defending a Federation supply depot against a maquis raid. DuPont was not directly involved. In fact, Val felt she basically had no involvement at all. However, it was technically true that if DuPont had taken a different course of action, Rodriguez' brother would not have perished in the tragic explosion.

Val had been thinking about the situation for the past few days. He was not sure it would ever be resolved. Although he was no longer on speaking terms with DuPont, he thought that perhaps the tension could be decreased if he could get DuPont to express regret or sympathy to Corporal Rodriguez. He wasn't sure how he would go about doing that. And even if he managed that feat, there's no telling how many other maquis members the MARCOs had personal grudges against. This on top of the general problem that Starfleet Command considers the maquis to be outlaws and that any former Starfleet officers who joined the maquis were to be tried for treason. This included the ship's current second-in-command, Vice Captain Chakotay.

Now, as Val reached his destination, he wondered what new problem would arise. A maquis crewmember, an Ensign Seska, requested that he come to her quarters. He told her that if she had a problem with one of the MARCOs, she should bring it up with Janeway and then Janeway would pass it back down to him. But she insisted on speaking with him privately.

Val reached the door and pressed the button that activated the door chime. He was invited to enter.

Ensign Seska invited him to have a seat. Val sat down.

The two of them exchanged pleasantries, but Seska quickly got to the point.

"How good of a pilot are you?" she asked.

"Why?"

"Humor me."

"I guess I'm okay."

"Can you fly a starship?"

"I think so. I thought about asking Janeway if I could become one of Voyager's relief flight officers."

"Because you think you are no longer needed to mediate between the maquis and the MARCOs since there has been a lull in the confrontations lately?"

"Not exactly. I thought about it before Janeway decided to have me be a go-between for her and the MARCOs. Do you have a complaint against one of the MARCOs?"

"No, counselor. That's not what this is about."

"Then, what?"

"I believe we have a common interest."

"What would that be?"

"First, let me explain who I am."

"I know who you are."

"No, you don't. I am not a Bajoran member of the maquis. I am a Cardassian operative. My mission was to infiltrate the maquis and take down Chakotay and his terrorist cell."

Val didn't give any visible expression, but he was intrigued.

"How blind is this Chakotay character," joked Val.

"Are you denying my feminine wiles, counselor," said Seska somewhat seductively.

"Not interested," said Val.

"Oh, that's right. You're into that DuPont girl," said Seska playfully.

"In the past, maybe."

"So, now let's discuss your future, counselor."

"Go ahead."

"I plan to take over this ship. And when I do, I'll need to know whether you are with me or against me."

"Come again?"

"Sometime in the coming months, I will take over this ship."

"To what end?"

"I do not believe Janeway acts in our best interests. She is weak. She senselessly destroyed the Caretaker Array and stranded us here in the Delta Quadrant."

"So you're not a Janeway fan. You think you can do better?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"By forging alliances. To survive in this godforsaken quadrant, we need to have powerful friends. We are alone here, at the mercy of unknown numbers of hostile aliens. The Kazon-Nistrim are willing to be our protectors in exchange for knowledge of our unique technologies."

"Great, well, call me when you achieve your momentous coup d'etat," said Val jokingly.

"It will happen, lieutenant."

"What does this have to do with me? Why would I even allow you to take this ship? I should just go to the captain right now and explain to her what you just told me."

"You could, but you won't."

"You are awfully confident in that."

"Quite. Now that you know who I am, let me tell you who I think you are."

"That is?"

"You're a thirty-one."

"Close. I'm only twenty-nine. I turn thirty this coming March."

"No, counselor. You're an agent of Section 31, the Federation's secret security service."

"I've never even heard of such a thing."

"I'm quite sure you have. In fact, this whole JAG officer bit is a charade. You've been placed there because it allows you free movement. Your various "field assignments" allow you to make frequent travels to far flung locations without raising any suspicions."

"That's an interesting theory. If it were true, why wouldn't I just be in the diplomatic corps. Or a merchant?"

"You were already a Starfleet officer when you were recruited into Section 31. In fact, you were already an environmental compliance officer."

"That's ridiculous."

"Ridiculous or not, I have confidence that you see things my way. We are in need of alliances here. In fact, we need to prepare for the possibility that we may never find a way back to the Alpha Quadrant. We should prepare to build a base of power here. It is the strategic thing to do. I know you agree."

"Even more ridiculous. You think I want to rule over this little backwater part of the galaxy as some sort of king? I have absolutely no interest in staying here. I plan to return to the alpha quadrant."

"You can engage in all the wishful thinking you want."

"Why do you need me? Why are you even telling me this?"

"I wanted to give you a head's up. Professional courtesy, one spy to another."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind if Janeway ever finds out and decides to hang you."

"So I guessed right, you won't tell Janeway."

"I won't tell her because I have complete confidence that you are harmless. Quite frankly, even if I did, she would simply dismiss my warning as some kind of hallucination against a member of the maquis."

Val got up abruptly and walked toward the door.

"Good night, counselor," said Seska.

"Good night, ensign."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val laid himself down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes. He had a tough time deciding whether to tell Janeway of the exchange he just had with the young maquis ensign. He had worried about possible moves by the maquis against the Starfleet crew onboard. But a Cardassian agent? That was an interesting twist. His door chime rang. He sat up on his bed.

"Enter."

It was Staff Sergeant Nathan Driver, the current leader of the MARCOs.

"Sir."

Val directed the sergeant to a seat.

"How are you, sergeant?"

"Good, sir."

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"Sir, I wanted to share something with you."

"That is?"

"The men and I have crafted a contingency plan to take over this ship in case of emergency."

Val was surprised. "Just wonderful," he thought to himself.

"So you're taking over the ship, eh?" Val tried to say it in a joking tone. It didn't come out that way though, and Driver could tell that Val was uneasy.

"No, sir. It's just a contingency. And even if it happens, it will only be temporary. We would return control of Voyager back to Starfleet after we find ourselves a suitable planet to live on."

"You're abandoning this ship?"

"Not our preferred outcome, but we both know Janeway is itching to maroon us somewhere when the mood strikes her. Lord knows where she would ditch us. It could be a scorching desert planet, or a freezing ice planet. I want to ensure that the planet we wind up on has a reasonable climate and provides us reasonable chances of survival. Not a barren wasteland devoid of food and shelter."

"She wouldn't do that. I'm sure she'll keep you on board."

"Really? Because that is not what a young lieutenant said to the MARCO platoon just a month and a half ago when warning of Janeway's desires. You insisted she would take such an action if there were to be any more incidents between the MARCOs and the maquis."

"I did, sergeant. So control your damn people."

"Easier said than done. Maybe things will be okay for the next week. Or the next month even. But passions will boil over. I can't placate them forever."

"Even if Janeway makes the decision, she'll find you a hospitable planet. She's not callous. There is no need to take over the ship."

"Perhaps, but I'm not taking that chance. I've been a soldier for 15 years, sir. I know how to make contingency plans. My men come first. Your Captain Janeway can go straight to hell."

"That's mutinous talk, sergeant. Contain yourself."

"Sir. I need my men's welfare to be independent from the whims of the captain. When the time comes, we're taking over the ship. But I know I can't keep control forever. So it'll be temporary. I just need to know that you'll help us when the time comes."

"Help you? I'm not a marine. And by the way, what makes you think I won't inform the captain of your little mutiny?"

"I don't need you to help me take control of the ship. I could do that with one squad. What I need is a pilot. I know you have that skillset. None of my MARCOs do. When I take control, I need a pilot to fly the ship while we search around for a hospitable planet. Paris is loyal to Janeway."

"So basically, I'm not loyal to Janeway."

"Maybe you are, but I have faith that you are reasonable and will balance the needs of both Janeway and my men. What I plan will benefit my men, and will do negligible harm to Janeway, if any."

"You are putting me in a very awkward spot here, sergeant."

"I understand. I apologize for it, but it has to be done. There is no other way."

Sergeant Driver stood up.

"Permission to leave, sir?"

"You're dismissed, sergeant."

Sergeant Driver walked out of Val's quarters. Val laid himself back on his bed. What a nightmare. He hoped that both Seska and Driver were venting and that neither of their plans would come into being.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Val woke up refreshed. He didn't give a second thought to the two encounters he had the prior evening.

He had just finished eating his breakfast. An ancient children's cereal called "Lucky Charms" that he loved as a child. It had no nutritional value whatsoever, but it gave him pleasure. The milk he doused it in probably had at least some calcium and vitamin benefit.

As he prepared to put on his uniform, he received an incoming communication from the captain.

"Lieutenant Shin, can you report to the briefing room?"

"Acknowledged," he said after he tapped his combadge.

Val made his way to Deck 1, where the briefing room was located right next to the bridge. He found that there were four officers already seated.

Voyager's briefing room was smaller and different from other ones he had been in. Almost always, the briefing room had a rectangular table. On one instance, he sat in during a meeting in a conference lounge with a rectangular table that was slightly curved. On Voyager, the table was very oddly shaped. Val wasn't sure how to describe the shape. Somewhat triangular was his best description. A curvy triangle. The captain sat at the apex closest to the window while there was space for 3 officers to the right or left of her. The third side did not have any chairs.

The captain sat at the head of the table. Two of her officers sat on one side. Vice Captain Chakotay and Lieutenant Tuvok, the ship's chief security officer. In the third chair sat Neelix, a Delta Quadrant alien whom Janeway took in. He often acted as her guide to the quadrant.

"Lieutenant, please have a seat," said Janeway.

"Thank you, captain," said Val as he sat down.

"The MARCOs seem to be much better behaved as of late. I have you to thank for that."

"You give me too much credit, ma'am."

"I'm beginning to have hopes that we can successfully integrate the MARCOs with the rest of the ship's crew. What do you think about that?"

"I think that's an admirable goal."

"But you don't think it's feasible."

"I just don't know, ma'am."

"You don't think the MARCOs can get over this whole maquis thing?"

"I wouldn't be able to say."

"Something struck my interest, counselor. You seem to get along with Lieutenant Paris just fine."

"I have no problems with Lieutenant Paris."

"Yet, he was highly disliked by both the maquis and Starfleet. My former vice captain and medical officer had very negative things to say. My current vice captain likewise had a very negative impression of the man when we first arrived in the Delta Quadrant."

"Mr. Paris' impression on others is none of my business, ma'am."

"What is your personal impression of Lt. Paris?"

"He appears to be an adequate officer."

"And your personal impression of Vice Captain Chakotay?"

"I have no opinion on that matter."

"Surely you must."

"I've always been taught that a gentleman remains silent if he has nothing good to say."

"See, this is what I don't get, counselor. You don't take kindly to the maquis. Yet, Paris was a member of the maquis."

"That is his business. People make mistakes."

"Yet, my 'mistake' is unforgivable?" asked the vice captain.

"I have no opinion on that matter," replied Val.

"Here is your preliminary advisory opinion to me when I first decided to integrate to maquis," said Janeway as she read from a padd. "This course of action is highly ill-advised. Members of the maquis should be locked up in the brig until a more permanent arrangement can be decided upon. Does that remain your opinion?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Janeway was a little bit surprised to hear that. She had been hoping for a kinder response. After all, she thought there were better relations with the maquis by now.

"Would you also advise I throw Mr. Paris into the brig."

"That is your decision."

"What would be your advice?"

"I have no opinion on that matter."

Janeway was beginning to hate that phrase. She had always hated lawyers. The one sitting in front of her was testing her patience.

"If I place all the members of the maquis in the brig, why not Paris?"

"That's your decision to make."

"Give me an argument why not Paris."

"Mr. Paris has been caught, sentenced, imprisoned, and paroled. He did the crime, he served the time. The justice system has ran through its course with him."

Janeway was intrigued.

"So it's nothing personal?" asked Janeway.

"For me, it's nothing personal. They're criminals, they should be imprisoned. The law's the law. However, I will say that for a great deal of the MARCOs, it may be more personal. In addition, for a handful of Starfleet crewmembers, there may be a personal aspect to it."

"Which Starfleet crewmembers?" asked Janeway in surprise.

"I would not feel comfortable divulging that information."

Janeway took note of that. For now, she wanted to move onto a different topic.

"Counselor, do you think the MARCOs would be willing to team up with Starfleet on an away mission?"

"An away mission? Where?"

"Lieutenant?"

Janeway had signaled for Lt. Tuvok to brief Val on the situation.

"Two hours ago, we detected an automated emergency distress beacon. It is originating from a Cardassian Galor-class warship."

"Cardassian?" asked Val in surprise.

"Indeed. Sensors have picked up the ship, we should rendezvous within the next hour and a half."

"You want the MARCOs to board that ship?"

"Alongside members of my security team," said Tuvok.

"Why the MARCOs?" asked Val.

"It's obvious the MARCOs don't trust me. And I'm not completely sure I trust them. But someone has to make the first move. This is my opening gesture that I'm willing to trust them with an important task. I am sincere in my hopes that I can integrate them into the ship's crew. You know, during the first days after we took the maquis crew onboard, I had some concerns about how I would integrate the maquis. Before the Parallax incident, I was against the idea of making Lieutenant Torres the chief engineer of this ship. Chakotay convinced me that if Torres received a senior officer position, one that she deserved, and if the maquis in general were granted more responsibility, they would be more loyal to me. I think thus far the experiment has worked. They've earned my trust. I am eager to duplicate that success with the MARCOs."

Val wasn't sure. He felt that Janeway might be sincere. However, he knew in his heart there must be a hidden motive. He thought about it for a few seconds and thought he came up with a possible reason.

"I don't understand why you wouldn't just send an away team composed of Starfleet security."

"Doing so doesn't help me with the situation with the MARCOs."

Val decided to bluff and watch the captain's reaction.

"The MARCOs will think this is a trap."

"Why?"

"If indeed there is a Cardassian ship out there, they will think you intend to send them into an ambush."

"Nonsense," insisted the captain. "I'd be sending my own officers there too."

"How many?"

"We haven't decided yet," said Tuvok.

"It simply makes no sense that you'd send in the MARCOs unless you know beforehand that there is a dangerous situation onboard. I'm not saying they wouldn't relish the challenge. But standard Starfleet protocol is to send Starfleet officers on the away team first and only use the MARCOs as back-up in the event of hostilities."

"I'm breaking protocol, captain's prerogative."

"I notice you seem to do that a lot."

"Watch your tone, lieutenant."

Val smiled. He had gotten under the captain's skin. As a prosecutor, he had found it a useful tool to increase the frustration levels of people he had under questioning. Whenever people were annoyed, they tended to let their guard down a little bit and blurt out their honest opinions more freely.

He sat for a few more seconds and pretended to think. He already knew what he was going to say next, but he acted as if he was trying to figure something out.

"You don't trust the maquis," said Val coldly with a smile.

"Come again, lieutenant?"

"You don't trust the maquis on the ship. That's why you won't beam over significant numbers of your security personnel. You want the MARCOs to supplement your away team so that you can keep more of your personnel on board," said Val, confident that he had figured it out.

"I can assure you that is not the reason."

"Then what?" asked a curious Val.

Janeway was exasperated. "It's because I don't trust the MARCOs."

"Then why use them on a mission?"

"If I send my officers over, I leave the MARCOs unchecked on board this ship. I'm obviously not going to send any of the maquis over to the Cardassian ship. Having the MARCOs onboard while my security staff is significantly reduced means I will have a tougher time breaking up any fights that occur between the MARCOs and the maquis. I'm risking chaos."

That made sense to Val.

"Captain, your protectiveness of the maquis intrigues me. They're not a ragtag bunch of harmless misfits. Many of them are dangerous. I'm sure even your security chief will concur. Tell me Lt. Tuvok, do you not fear an event that will see the maquis take over this ship?"

"I am extremely confident that will not occur," said Tuvok.

"Extremely confident because you've taken appropriate counter-measures?"

Tuvok was uncomfortable, but said "Appropriate counter-measures for such an event have been contemplated." In fact, the Vulcan lieutenant had run holodeck simulations to see what might happen in the event of a maquis mutiny. He called it Insurrection Alpha.

Janeway looked a little surprised. Val did not.

"Of course," Val said. "It was the logical thing to do." Val knew Tuvok probably planned counter-measures in the event of a MARCO uprising as well.

"Fine, counselor. I don't trust the MARCOs, the MARCOs don't trust me, and there are apparently some Starfleet officers that do not trust the maquis. We're in a three-way struggle for power. But… I *am* still the captain of this ship, and I make the final decisions. Now, I am ordering the MARCOs to join Lt. Tuvok's away team. Will they comply?"

"I am sure they will, ma'am."

"Good. You're dismissed."

"Aye, ma'am," said Val as he stood from his chair and exited the room.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val entered the MARCO barracks in Cargo Bay 3.

"Officer on deck!" yelled one of the corporals. The rest of the MARCOs quickly stood at attention.

"As you were," said Val.

He walked over to Staff Sergeant Driver.

"Sergeant Driver, I need a word."

The two of them sat down and discussed the situation. Val wanted two fire teams to send over to the Cardassian ship.

Driver decided to take two teams from the platoon's first squad and keep the third fire team on standby.

"You'll be accompanying four Starfleet officers. You and the first fire team will beam over to the ship's bridge. Sergeant Hall and the second fire team will beam over to the ship's engineering section."

"Sounds good, sir. Will you be beaming over as well."

"No. I'm not as brave as you are," joked Val.

"Few are, sir. Very few are," joked Driver in response.

"Be safe," said Val.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ten MARCO troops and 4 Starfleet ensigns beamed over to the Cardassian ship.

For the first time in weeks, Corporal Rodriguez was thinking of something other than picking a fight with the maquis. He had his pulse phaser rifle at the ready. The entire room was dark, except for whichever parts were lit up by the lights mounted on top of the rifles. Everyone remained quiet and started scanning the room with their lights. From time to time, Rodriguez would look for Sergeant Driver to see if he was giving any hand signals to communicate.

The MARCOs had changed into their camouflaged uniforms. Although it was dark, it was easy to differentiate the two Starfleet officers who were also slowly looking around.

Driver tapped an earpiece in his right ear. "Fire Team Bravo, report."

Sergeant Hall responded "Engineering secured."

Only the MARCOs heard her. Driver had always thought it was strange that Starfleet security didn't wear earpieces. The combadge system was fine when on board their ships, but in an alien environment, you wouldn't want potential enemies to hear your conversations. Driver gave a thumbs up signal to one of the Starfleet officers near him.

That officer attempted to access one of the computers nearby. After failing, he tapped his combadge.

"Bridge team to Voyager, we're clear. No sign of life. Both the bridge and engineering are in complete darkness. No systems operational."

"Acknowledged," said Lt. Tuvok.

"Ensign Kim, is their power drained?"

"No ma'am. At least some of the ship's core functions are running. Life support and gravity are seemingly up, or else the away teams would have reported that. In addition, the automated emergency beacon is on, and whatever is jamming our sensors seems to be working."

"There might be Cardassians in some of the other rooms?" asked Chakotay.

"That's a possibility, sir."

"Tell Lieutenant Carey he can beam over," said Janeway.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lieutenant Joseph Carey had been the second ranking engineer assigned to Voyager. When the chief engineer died during the transport to the Delta Quadrant, he had presumed that he would take over engineering. To his dismay, Captain Janeway decided that the maquis engineer Torres was a better choice.

Carey had promised to remain as the second ranking engineer and to serve to the best of his ability. Most of the engineers were surprised. When Lt. Torres was promoted to the position over Carey, at least two Starfleet crewmembers filed complaints. Even more surprising was that Torres earned the promotion soon after being threatened with a court martial. She had punched Carey in the face and sent him to sickbay. Tuvok had wanted to confine Torres to the brig. In addition, many junior maquis members expressed to Chakotay that they were prepared to seize the ship over the incident. Chakotay had been livid and warned any potential mutineers that he would throw them in the brig himself.

Since then, Carey had served as an outstanding engineer. Torres was usually the engineer chosen for away missions, but this time was different. Any maquis members beamed over to a Cardassian ship would be a recipe for disaster. He was chosen to beam over to the Cardassian ship's engineering section and try to bring the ship back on line.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neelix was finally ready to report his findings to the captain. During the situation briefing earlier, when he was shown an image of the Galor class warship, he thought it looked familiar. He looked through his ship's logs and determined that it appeared to be a ship which he had been warned to stay away from.

"Who are the Krowtonan Guard?" asked Captain Janeway.

"The Krowtonan were a mid-level military force in this region. They have been marginalized as of late after picking a fight with the Kazon."

"And they boarded the Cardassian ship?"

"My sources tell me that a small Krowtonan force boarded the ship and found it to be completely inoperational and devoid of life. The story then gets interesting. The rumor is that the ship is haunted. The Krowtonans found at least two ghosts on the ship. These ghosts are rumored to have killed three of the Krowtonan boarding party."

"I'll have the away teams stay alert for any 'ghosts,'" said Janeway.

"Well, the accounts differ. Only some of the Krowtonan said they saw ghosts. At least one Krowtonan acknowledged that all three casualties may have been hit with friendly fire. In the darkness, and under chaos, I can see that happening. Though, the Krowtonan are well-trained. In addition, one of the Krowtonan said he fired his energy weapon and the burst went through the ghost. This possibly led to friendly fire if the Krowtonan had decided to surround the ghost."

"Alleged ghost, Mr. Neelix. Let's not get too carried away here. There are reasonable explanations for everything."

"Yes, captain."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carey worked on one of the computer consoles in the engineering section. The computer console turn on, but wouldn't allow him access to any of the ship's systems. It appeared he needed a security code.

He wished he had more light. He had asked two assistant engineers to keep their lights focused on the console while he was trying to get into the ship's systems. The rest of the room was dark, save three or four small spots where MARCO troops had been positioned.

Suddenly, he thought he saw something from the corner of his eye.

"Did anyone see that?"

"See what, sir?" asked one of his assistants.

"Nothing. I thought I saw something."

Carey spent a few more minutes trying to break the encryption and gain access to the computer systems. He soon decided that it would be a pointless endeavor. The engineering team and the MARCOs beamed back to Voyager.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Next course of action?" asked the Captain in her follow up meeting in the briefing room. Teams of Starfleet security and MARCO troops had swept the entire Cardassian ship from bow to stern. There was nobody on board.

"We should torpedo the ship and then warp away," said Torres.

That seemed a bit rash. But Janeway was considering that course of action as well. Although Torres suggested it out of pure hatred for Cardassians, Janeway was considering it so that the Kazon would not get their hands on advanced technology such as food replicators.

"I'm not sure that's advisable," said Neelix.

"Why?" asked the Captain.

"Right now, we are technically in Krowtonan space. They've been weakened by their fight against the Kazon, and some of their other enemies have also found this an opportune time to attack while they are distracted. But they are still a significant force. They have probably ignored us because we do not seem to be a threat. As I've said before, the Krowtonan believe in ghosts. They would view torpedoing the haunted Cardassian ship as an action bringing extremely bad luck upon the entire region and dooming the entire region to be haunted by vengeful ghosts. It is likely this is the reason the Krowtonan themselves did not destroy the ship. In addition, a number of the other races in the region would view the destruction of the ship to be a sign of cruelty and disrespect of the dead. Something akin to burying a person face-down on your homeworld Earth."

The Captain sighed in frustration.

"There are so-called starship graveyards in this region," added Neelix. We can tow the ship to one of the nearby sites and that should be fine."

"Let's do that. And make sure we strip whatever technology off that ship before we leave it," said Janeway. "On another note: Counselor Shin, please convey my gratitude to Sergeant Driver for his team's participation in this away mission. I'm glad it went off without a hiccup. I look forward to future collaborations."

"Will do," responded Val.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Staff Sergeant Driver sat in his quarters after finishing up his after action report. He was glad to be getting back into the swing of things. He hadn't typed up such a report since Voyager got stranded in the Delta quadrant. Of course, it was a boring report. Nothing happened on the Cardassian ship.

He reminisced about the first time he had to write such a report. He was a newly promoted squad leader. Those reports were shorter than the ones he soon had to write up as the platoon sergeant. But he hadn't been accustomed to paperwork. And so much. His first mission as a squad leader had brought his battalion to a planet which was trying to escape civil war. It was his first peacekeeping mission. But just about anything that happened required a report. Not just text summaries, but supplemented with diagrams and digital photographs. Speak with a civilian leader from a neighboring village, write a report. Award credits to local businessmen for their cooperation, write a report. It was a phenomenon many sergeants and lieutenants called "death by paperwork."

Soon, he felt some sadness. His current quarters were those originally assigned to Major Douglas, his former commanding officer. It was then that he realized he wouldn't be sending his after action report to the major. In fact, he wondered if he even had to write one up. He soon decided that he would address the report to Lieutenant Shin.

His thoughts were interrupted by his door chime.

"Enter," he said. But nobody did. He walked over to his door and the door automatically slid open. He looked around, but did not see anyone. He then caught sight of a padd that had been left on the ground in front of his doorway. He picked it up and read it with interest.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Driver knew that Shin had just wrapped up a meeting with the ship's captain and senior officers.

He approached Shin's quarters and hit the door chime. Nobody answered. Driver decided to wait for Shin to return. It was a short wait, only a couple of minutes.

"Sergeant, I was just about to come speak with you."

"Sir, I think we should speak in private."

"Sure, please come in."

The two walked into Val's quarters.

"I just received some interesting information." He handed Val the padd that he found on the floor.

Val looked at the padd. It contained several lines of information.

Name: Vetara

Class: Galor modified prototype

Function: Unmanned exploratory warship.

Mission profile: Assigned to explore Gamma quadrant.

Fate: ship disappeared in 2370 prior to reaching Bajoran wormhole. Ship presumed lost. Unmanned concept deemed a failure.

That was interesting background information. But even more interesting were the three lines at the bottom. Three command codes to unlock the ship's systems. The first was the code for the ship's computers. The second was the code to access the ship's flight controls, and the third was for access to the ship's weapons systems. For some reason, the flight controls and weapons had been segregated from the main computer.

"Where did you get this?" asked Val.

"It just appeared at my doorstep. But who cares! Let's beam over and see if it works," said an excited Driver.

"Why?"

"Don't you see, sir? This is a gift. This is our shot. We don't have to deal with the contingency of taking over the ship. We'll have our own ship. We'll be safe. Independent from Captain Janeway."

"Sergeant, you may be pleased to know that just several minutes ago, Janeway praised your team for their professionalism during the recent away mission."

"I am indeed pleased to know that, but who knows how long that will last? We need to at least evaluate this situation."

"What is this usage of the word "we," sergeant? Don't bring me into this. You're a grown man, you can do this yourself."

"Permission to speak, sir."

Val knew he wasn't going to like what was coming.

"Granted," he said reluctantly.

"We both know why the MARCOs are here."

"I know, I know. To capture the maquis. I understand that you think your troops will never get along with them. But this is a rash decision."

"This is a time sensitive situation, sir. We have a small window of opportunity. We wait and Janeway either destroys the ship or warps away." Scuttlebutt across the ship had been the Janeway would destroy the ship.

Driver could see Val was thinking things through.

"And, sir. I meant to say that the MARCOs wouldn't be here if Major Douglas hadn't asked for this mission." Driver just hit Val with a ton of bricks. Starfleet Command's first request for a MARCO platoon was initially denied by Colonel Jessik. Starfleet Command pressured Val to pull some strings, and Val contacted Douglas to try to persuade the colonel. The colonel relented and agreed, but only allowed two squads, instead of the regular three. In addition, the colonel placed Douglas in charge as the platoon leader. Douglas' rank and position had been a company commander, in charge of multiple platoons. But he decided to do this for his friend. In a way, Val was responsible for his friend's death.

Val resented that fact that Driver would try to guilt him into this. But Driver had been a good man, a good soldier. The knowledge that Major Aaron Douglas volunteered the MARCOs for this mission was not known to the other MARCOs, and Driver kept it a secret. In a private conversation, Driver had told Val that he did not consider Val to be the reason for Douglas' death. It was an accident. However, Driver needed help. He needed Val's cooperation. And right now, Driver was going to play any card he had, including guilt tripping his superior with the fact that if it hadn't been for Val's request, Douglas would be alive and the MARCOs would be back in the alpha quadrant not facing their current dilemma.

"Do any of the other MARCOs know about this?"

"Not yet, but they will if everything checks out."

"How do you know it's not a trap? A booby trap of some kind? The ship could be rigged to implode once you enter those codes."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take. It'll only be the two of us."

"Great. That'll make me feel much better when I'm dead."

"Sir, you know there's no happy ending on this ship. The MARCOs and the maquis are not going to hold hands and sing. Janeway will eventually be forced to do something, and that something might be that she maroons us on a barren moon somewhere. I can't allow that."

"You don't need me!" insisted Val.

"Yes, I do. I can't go to the transporter room and just ask for myself to be beamed over. The transporter chief will ask her department head for authorization. You're a Starfleet lieutenant. The transporter chief will obey your orders."

Val was stymied. He eventually agreed to beam over with Sergeant Driver.

He was furious at the maquis ensign, Seska. He knew it must've been her who left the padd for Sergeant Driver. The command codes on the padd also contained the Cardassian symbol for the letter "O," twice. This represented the Obsidian Order, Cardassia's intelligence agency.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val and Driver entered transporter room 1.

"Petty Officer, two to beam over to the Cardassian ship's bridge."

"Aye, sir," said the transporter chief.

In five seconds, Val and Driver were standing in complete darkness. Two beams of light sliced through the darkness.

Val walked over to one of the consoles.

"Would you like to do the honors?" he asked.

Driver punched the first code into the computer. In a split second, the entire bridge lit up. Multiple computer screens were lighting up.

"Yes!" said Driver triumphantly.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ensign Seska smiled to herself. Things were working better than she could have ever dreamed. If she pushed the MARCOs into abandoning Voyager, she would have significantly less resistance when she finally put her plans into action to take the ship.

She just needed one more piece to fall into place before this phase of her plan could be called a success. She rounded up about eight or so of the maquis who she thought were most harassed by the MARCOs in the beginning weeks of the ship's arrival at the Delta Quadrant. After convincing them to seek revenge for their injuries, it was set into motion. Seska knew that a significant melee would ensue. That would push the MARCOs to realize that there would never be peace on board, and that they risk Janeway leaving them behind somewhere. For sure they would feel that the Cardassian ship was the safer option.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Report," said Janeway from the bridge.

"Area secured," replied Tuvok. He had just left his station on the bridge to deal with the chaos in the mess hall.

Sergeant Matthew Raines walked up to Tuvok. He was the ranking MARCO there.

"This was not our fault," he declared. "Those maquis crewmen struck first." Raines pointed to three crewmembers that were lying on the ground, two of them bleeding profusely. A few other maquis were also injured. One MARCO suffered a broken wrist. Another had a head injury.

One of the Starfleet crewmen who were also dining in the mess hall confirmed to Tuvok that it was the maquis crewmen who started the scuffle. Tuvok gave permission for the maquis crewmen to take their wounded to sickbay.

Tuvok reported the situation to Janeway. She was not happy. She asked Chakotay to join her in her office.

Janeway tapped her combadge "Lieutenant Shin, please report to the Captain's Office."

"Lieutenant Shin is not on board Voyager," came the computer's voice.

"Where is he?"

"Unknown."

Janeway then made a simultaneous call to all transporter room and shuttlebays. "Has anyone seen Lieutenant Shin?"

"Yes, ma'am," came the response from transporter room 1.

"When did he beam out?"

"About 25 minutes ago, ma'am."

"Thank you, Janeway out."

"Ensign Kim, can you contact Lt. Shin and tell him I wish to speak with him in my office."

"Yes, ma'am."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Janeway was furious. She had thought the MARCOs and the maquis could eventually get along. Now it seems that once just one MARCO was off the ship, the maquis took advantage. What confused her is why they didn't take advantage during the away missions when a third of the MARCOs were off the ship.

"What the hell was Shin and the MARCO leader doing on board the Cardassian ship anyway," Janeway asked herself.

Her door chime rang.

"Come," she said.

Val walked into the Captain's Office.

"You asked for me, ma'am?"

"Yes. Have you been briefed?"

"Briefed about what, ma'am?"

"The all out brawl that occurred in the mess hall between the MARCOs and the maquis."

"No, ma'am. When did this happen?"

"While you and Staff Sergeant Driver were having an adventure in the darkness over on the Cardassian ship."

"Ma'am, I don't know how this could've happened. I know for a fact Sergeant Driver specifically ordered his men to refrain from any hostilities with the maquis. I was there when he said it, multiple times."

"This was one of the few instances when the maquis started it," said Janeway.

"I'll have a talk with my people," said Chakotay.

"Do that, vice captain. Start with the ones in sickbay."

"Aye, ma'am."

Chakotay left the office and headed for sickbay.

Val was about to leave as well, but the captain stopped him.

"Lieutenant, please have a seat."

Val sat down.

"Val, I need your insight. I know you and Driver were on the Cardassian ship when this happened. You'll need to explain that to me, but first how do you think the MARCOs are going to react to this situation?"

Val didn't want to say it, but he had to tell the truth.

"Sadly, I think this will force the MARCOs' hand. Driver had planned to take the ship, and now he probably will."

"Over my dead body, Lieutenant. Voyager's MY ship."

"No, not Voyager. The Vetara."

"The what?"

"The Cardassian ship, its name is the Vetara."

"To what end? It's not operational."

"Driver and I just brought it back online. It's fully functional."

"I see, and how did you manage that feat?" asked a curious Janeway.

Val was always fast on his toes.

"Starfleet Intel had given the MARCOs access codes to various Cardassian ships in case Chakotay and his cell had commandeered one. If we were confronted with a stolen Cardassian ship, we could send the access codes to shut it down and then re-start it with another set of access codes after the prisoners were secured."

"Why did none of the MARCOs use these codes on the first walk through?"

"Only I and Major Douglas knew about the codes. When I realized, I had Sergeant Driver look through some of Douglas' files. He found the codes and thought it was worth a try."

"Why didn't you tell ME?" asked Janeway.

"I thought there was some risk that it might be a booby trap. Starfleet Intel's source was not completely reliable. I thought you would prevent me from trying."

Val was a very good liar. It is no surprise that Seska thought he was an intelligence agent. However, he wasn't. He was just your average lawyer.

"So now that Driver has the Vetara, what does he plan to do with it?"

"I'm not sure," said Val. I think he really just wants to go home. He would have loved it if he and his troops could stay on Voyager, but he knew in his heart this animosity with the maquis would unravel any chance of that."

"I can order them to stay on board."

"I am sorry, captain. But I think this is the end of them taking orders from you. I had some hopes after the successful away mission, but this recent brawl just brings back the point that the maquis situation is unacceptable. There's no happy ending here."

"You're making me choose between the maquis and the MARCOs."

"No ma'am. The choice is done. The MARCOs are leaving."

"I am sure you'll miss them."

"Sorry, ma'am. I will be leaving as well."

"Lieutenant, you are a Starfleet officer, under my command. You will not abandon this ship."

"Captain, I have never been a part of your crew. I'm just a JAG oversight officer. I have no purpose here. But my basic piloting skills are of use on the Vetara. I am sorry to breach my loyalty towards you, but the MARCOs have a much better chance of reaching the alpha quadrant if I am with them."

"Why do you feel a stronger duty to the MARCOs than to Starfleet?"

Val was reluctant at first, but he decided to tell the captain about how he convinced Major Douglas to get permission to have the MARCOs join Voyager on the mission to find Chakotay's cell. Val was responsible for Major Douglas' death. Val is responsible for the MARCOs being stranded in the Delta quadrant. He couldn't let the MARCOs just drift in space without a pilot.

Janeway finally understood why Val had been so protective of the MARCOs.

Although Val didn't ask for permission to disembark, Janeway said "Lieutenant, your request for permission to disembark and take command of the Vetara is granted. Good luck to you."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Val stood up from his seat and started to walk towards the door.

"One more thing, lieutenant."

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I remember during one of our private conversations, I asked you why you are no longer on speaking terms with your friend DuPont. You said something to the effect of her making the wrong decision, and someone dying because of it."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I wanted to let you know. Sometimes, you can make the right decision, and people still die. It is not your fault that Major Aaron Douglas is no longer with us. I hope you learn to accept that. As a captain, which you now are, you will probably have to deal with more such situations."

"Thank you for thoughts, Captain Janeway. I'll see you in the Alpha Quadrant."

"You will. Dismissed."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ensign Seska was quite proud of herself. Mission Accomplished. She heard the door chime ring.

"Come in."

"I'll make this quick, ensign," said Val as he walked through the door. "I am very displeased with how you manipulated this entire situation."

"Awww. Did I hurt your feelings?"

"Save it."

"You've gotta admit, I'm pretty damn good."

"You can color me impressed. What I don't get is why you didn't just take the Vetara and then flee to the Kazon. If all you wanted was replicator technology and advanced weaponry to deliver to the Kazon, you could've given them the Vetara."

"That's a laugh riot, counselor. A Galor class ship is not much compared to Voyager. I much prefer the ship I'm standing on right now, thank you very much."

"You should've taken the 'inferior' ship, ensign. I've already told Janeway that you are a Cardassian spy."

"No you haven't."

"How else was I going to explain to her how I got the access codes to the Vetara? Magic?"

"If Janeway knew, I'd be in the brig by now."

"Janeway knows, and she'll watch for who you're contacting so that she can get back whatever tech you've already given to the Kazon."

"You're bluffing. If it were true, why would you tell me?"

"Professional courtesy. One spy to another," said Val with a smile.

Val walked out of Seska's quarters and headed for his own.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tom Paris had been waiting in the transporter room for a couple of minutes. Although he was not very close to Val Shin, they were friends. He also didn't want Val to leave without anyone saying goodbye, and Tom knew he was the closest friend Val had except for the MARCOs and possibly even including the MARCOs.

Val was the last one to beam over. All of the MARCOs and their equipment had transported over an hour ago. Val walked into the transporter room with a small backpack strapped on and a mid-sized duffle bag in his right hand.

"Hey Vince, I just wanted to wish you the best of luck," said Tom. Tom extended his hand. Val dropped his bag onto the floor and shook Tom's hand.

"Thanks Tom, I appreciate it. Oh, by the way, my friends call me Val."

"I know. It's just that I once had a serious relationship that fell apart with a girl named Valerie and I wince every time I say that name. Sorry, man. It didn't seem like you minded when I called you Vince."

"Actually, I don't. No worries. I just found it strange."

"Oh, Captain Janeway said that we would stay in contact for as long as we can. It will probably be at least several weeks before we are out of communications range. I wish we could keep our warp cruising speed a tiny bit slower so that we could convoy home together."

"Thanks for the thought Tom. I think Voyager should go maximum cruising speed. It's the right call. We'll meet up eventually."

"Yeah. Oh, and Tuvok said that he would keep an eye on the two maquis crewmembers you mentioned to him. He said you gave him some sort of inside information from Starfleet Intel?"

"Yea. I was going to tell the captain, but I thought she'd probably blow it off as my paranoia against the maquis."

"Care to share?"

"You can ask Tuvok. Tell him I said you can have a copy of the file. The encrypt password is Obsidian."

Crewman DuPont entered the transporter room.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said.

"Oh, not interrupting," said Paris. He walked backwards toward the doorway while facing Val. "I am due on the bridge. Good luck, counselor," said Paris as he raised his eyebrows in a quick gesture. He then turned around and left the transporter room.

"Hi V," said DuPont.

"Hey, how are ya?"

"Okay. I'm sorry to see you go."

"Nah. It's no big deal. We'll meet up again."

"I'll miss you."

"Nah. You'll forget about me soon enough."

"No I won't."

"Well, just in case you do, I give you permission to," Val joked.

"That's not funny."

"Hey, don't worry about me. I'll be okay."

"I shouldn't have defended Kirkland and Lewis."

Morgan Kirkland and Stan Lewis were two members of the maquis who had been caught by Starfleet. During their interrogations, intelligence officers got a little rough because time was of the essence and they had to find a hidden bomb. As a result, DuPont petitioned the court to suppress their confessions and the court agreed. Subsequently, Kirkland and Lewis were involved in the raid that killed Petty Officer Alejandro Rodriguez, Corporal Lorenzo Rodriguez' brother.

"You were a defense attorney. You did your job."

"Six Starfleet crewman died because of that."

"No, Karen. That wasn't your fault."

Val placed both of his hands under DuPont's and held them for a few seconds. Then he lightly bounced them up and down.

"It wasn't your fault."

Ironically, it was such tactics by defense attorneys which led the JAG office to send their officers to oversee interrogations and make sure they didn't get out of hand. In effect, Val would never have been sent on this particular field assignment, and perhaps the MARCOs wouldn't have either.

When Val let go of DuPont's hands, she reached into her pocket and pulled something out. She placed it in Val's hand.

Val opened his hand and saw two Starfleet rank pips.

"You're a captain now. You should have the appropriate rank insignia."

Val laughed. "Thanks. I'm not a real captain though. I can't just add two pips."

"Well, Captain Janeway gave two to Paris as a field promotion."

"Paris was re-instated. Not promoted. But I get your point. Thanks for the thought."

The two of them hugged for a brief moment. As they parted, Val brought his head down and they touched foreheads for a second.

"Be a good captain," she said.

Val then picked up his bag from the floor and walked over to the transporter pad.

"Don't volunteer for any away missions, okay? They're dangerous," he said to DuPont.

DuPont smiled.

"Energize."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val was laying down on his new bed. He was a little surprised. He had heard that Cardassians lived in very Spartan quarters. But here he was, in the Vetara's commander's quarters, and it was quite to his satisfaction. 600 square feet was not bad. Of course, his quarters on Deep Space 5 were close to 1,000 square feet. But 600 would suffice. The queen sized bed mattress was quite comfortable.

Then, something caught his eye. The room was dimly lit so he increased the lighting. He was startled. A female Cardassian had somehow entered his room.

"Stop right there," he said.

He tapped his combadge that was sitting on his bedside table, "Security to the captain's quarters!"

When the female figure slowly approached, Val reached for his phaser pistol.

She kept approaching, and Val fired. The beam of light passed right through her


	3. In Command

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More is discovered about the Vetara. A Cardassian hologram named Kejal is the ship's caretaker, and cedes command to Val. It is discovered that the Vetara fell under a joint operation between the Cardassian Obsidian Order, the Romulan Tal Shiar, and the human "Bureau 31." Val has been (perhaps mistakenly) identified by the Obsidian Order as a level 2 operative of the bureau. As such, he is placed in command of the ship.

Three MARCOs bursted into Val's room. They only person they saw was Val, holding a small hand phaser.

"Are you okay, sir?" asked a corporal.

"Yes, I'm fine." There was nobody else there. Val must have imagined the intruder.

"You fleet boys are easily spooked," said one of the privates.

"Come again?" asked Val.

"Your face, sir. You're as white as a bedsheet."

Val laughed silently to himself.

"Maybe it's cuz Halloween just passed a week ago. You should've stayed away from the horror movies, sir," said the corporal.

"Maybe," said Val. "Thank you for your team's quick response."

"No problem, sir," said the corporal. "If it makes you feel better, the Voyager engineer was easily spooked as well. What was his name, Gary something?"

"Carey. Joseph Carey."

"Right. You could tell something spooked him, though he wouldn't admit it. Have a good night, sir."

The three MARCOs left Val and he went back to bed. Before falling asleep, he made a note to himself to speak with Lt. Carey about what he might've seen during his time in the Vetara's engineering section."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Val had basically forgotten the incident that happened in his quarters the night before. He had a brief conversation with Carey. The engineer didn't see anything. He thought he might've seen another person in the distance, at least twenty feet away from him. But once he shined his light in that direction, there was nobody there.

The ship seemed to be running fine. For the time being, Val charted a course which trailed behind Voyager. No piloting skills needed thus far. The power systems seemed to be running at optimal. The Vetara was a sturdy ship.

That night, he decided to read up on the systems of the Cardassian ship. He would familiarize himself with the energy systems first. Then, perhaps the propulsion systems.

As he started getting tired, he put down his padd and started to lower the lights. He again noticed an intruder in his quarters. But this time, it was a different person.

"You're not real," he whispered to himself. He closed his eyes tightly and started blinking hard. But the figure did not disappear.

Val froze for a second, transfixed by what he was seeing. But he soon gathered his wits and tapped his combadge laying on his nightstand. "Security to the captain's quarters."

The woman slowly walked toward his bed. She had her hands up slightly in front of her, as if to signal that she was not going to harm him. She reached his bed, sat down and touched his hand. Val felt pressure on his hand. This was not a ghost.

"I'm not a threat to you, captain," said the woman. "I'm yours."

"Mine? What do you mean, mine?" asked Val.

"I belong to this ship's commander. I belong to you," said the woman.

Just then, a team of MARCOs came in, rifles at the ready.

"Hold fire!" shouted Val. He wanted to hear more from the woman. But more importantly, he still wasn't sure whether the phaser fire would go through the woman like it did the previous night, and wind up hitting him.

The woman suddenly disappeared, but this time, the MARCOs had caught a glimpse of her before she did.

"Sorry I doubted you, sir," said one of the privates. It was the same team that had entered his quarters the night before. "I guess ghosts do exist."

"That wasn't a ghost," said an annoyed Val. He wasn't annoyed with the MARCOs. It was just an annoying overall situation. He grabbed his uniform jacket and headed out.

"Where are you going?" asked Corporal Santiago.

"Engineering!" said Val as he quickly walked toward the closest turbolift.

"Are we following you, sir? Or are we returning to our posts?" asked Santiago.

"Your choice, corporal. I won't need a guard detail if that's what you're asking. It wasn't hostile."

The three MARCOs followed Val into the turbolift.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Officer on deck!" said one of the MARCOs as Val entered engineering. They stiffened up and stood at attention.

"As you were," said Val. The team of four MARCOs standing guard in engineering returned to simply milling about.

"Corporal Logan, please run a systems diagnostic, ship-wide. I want a record of every system that has been accessed in the past hour."

"Sir?"

"The screen in front of you. Review the ship's systems and tell me what programs have been running in the past hour."

"Sir, with all due respect," said Logan. "I'm a marine. I don't know anything about ship's systems. If anyone in this room is running a ship-wide diagnostic, I think it's you," she said jokingly.

Val walked over to the console and Logan stepped out of the way. He moved his fingers quickly across the touchscreen and read through the information. He spotted the program he was looking for. It had been activated in the past 15 minutes, and it was also activated around the time he thought he saw the "ghost" the previous night. It worried him that there were about a few timecodes in between when the program appears to have been briefly activated. He pushed a couple of buttons and the hologram appeared in the middle of engineering.

A few of the MARCOs reflexively brought their rifles up, but Val held up his left hand to signal them to stand down.

Val wasn't sure how interactive the hologram was, but from what he had seen thus far, it would be one of the higher functioning holograms in his experience.

"Identify yourself," said Val. He actually felt a little ridiculous demanding that, since it should probably be the hologram demanding that Val identify himself. After all, this was a Cardassian ship and she was a Cardassian hologram.

"I am Kejal. I am this ship's caretaker."

"Caretaker?"

"The Vetara was converted from a warship to a prototype unmanned exploration ship. There was some concern that the ship would run into unforeseen malfunctions along the way. I was designed to monitor the ship's systems and carry out repairs if necessary."

"You're the ship's engineer?"

"Perhaps repair technician is an appropriate designation. My program self-activates once a month unless a malfunction alert triggers to bring me online."

"Why were you in my quarters last night?"

"I am not an original program. Maintenance stills were added on top of an existing program. My original designation was the commander's consort. Those subroutines are still active in my programming. I am not allowed to delete them. Even if I were, I believe it would cause serious damage to me, as the consort program is the "skeleton" of my current program. The consort subroutines were dormant until your presence was registered in your quarters."

"Interesting…" said Staff Sergeant Driver. He had just arrived in engineering. He was notified by one of his corporals about the holographic program.

"What about the other hologram?" asked Santiago. "The one in the captain's quarters 20 minutes ago."

"That was also me. I took a form that would be more pleasing to your captain," said Kejal.

Val was a little embarrassed. He had hoped the discussion wouldn't move in this direction.

"Yes, I noticed that it was the same program that ran during both nights," said Val as he pointed to the screen.

"You're into Orions, huh?" asked Santiago. Earlier in the night, Kejal had taken on the appearance of an Orion female from Val's past. Once he recognized her, he knew she wasn't a ghost.

"Maintain your military bearing, corporal," said Sergeant Driver.

"Yes, sir," said Santiago. He was trying to lighten the mood. In the end, he respected Val as a superior.

"I'm going to deactivate your program temporarily and transfer you to the captain's office. I'd like to get some questions answered, but with less of an audience," said Val. There were now over a dozen MARCO troopers assembled in engineering. News apparently spreads fast.

"Captain," said Kejal. "There are no holo-emitters in the gul's office."

"Okay," said Val. "Sergeant Driver, please clear engineering."

"You heard the man," said Driver. "Everyone out. Corporal Logan, please take your team to the armory until I call for you."

"Yes, sergeant."

"Sergeant Driver," said Val. "You can stay."

"Sir, with your permission, I'd like for Matt and Julie to stay as well."

"That's fine."

After the room cleared, Val continued to ask questions of the Vetara's caretaker.

"Kejal, is it?"

"Yes, captain."

"That's a nice name."

"It's Bajoran. It means independent."

"Bajoran?"

"The engineer in charge of the unmanned exploration ship program, Glinn Daro, served a rotation on Bajor during the Union's administration. He picked up some words from the Bajoran language. He thought Kejal would be an interesting name for the ship as it would operate independently. However, Gul Evek was in charge of the program. He was displeased and would not allow a Bajoran name for a Cardassian ship. Evek decided to name this ship Vetara, after his flagship, the Vetar. Daro then decided to name me Kejal."

"And Evek didn't care about that?"

"I'm not sure Evek knew. In any event, there were multiple rumors that some Cardassian guls assigned to the Bajor sector kept Bajoran consorts."

"Which brings me to this question: why is there a consort on a commanderless ship?"

"This ship was originally designed to have a crew. My program was initially installed prior to the modification to unmanned exploration."

"So you're saying a consort is a default program on all Cardassian ships?" asked Driver.

"On most warships, yes. Cardassian military officers are not allowed to bring their spouses or families on post with them. I believe Starfleet has more relaxed policies on that front. A consort program was deemed to enhance the comfort levels of Cardassian commanders on long deployments."

"Wonderful," said Val sarcastically. "And you said I can't delete those subroutines from your program."

"No, you cannot."

"We can trade quarters if you like, sir," joked a smiling Driver.

"Not funny," said Val.

"This ship has imprinted Captain Shin as the commander of this vessel," said Kejal. "Regardless of which quarters he sleeps in."

"I'd like to get to that," said Val. "Although I'm glad that you see me as your captain, why is that? I'm a Starfleet officer on a Cardassian ship. Why am I not registered as an intruder on your ship?"

"That is complicated. I am unsure as to whether you would like me to explain in front of your men. The explanation might involve details you wish to keep private."

Val thought about dismissing the MARCO sergeants. He was unsure what Kejal might say. However, he wanted to build trust with them, so he allowed them to stay

"You may explain with my sergeants present."

"Last night, when I first appeared in your quarters, you had already been confirmed as one of the individuals who had entered in the activation codes to bring this ship online."

"So if Sergeant Driver had those quarters, you would have deemed him this ship's commander?"

"No."

"But he punched in the first code."

"That isn't enough. However, you match other criteria. Last night, after I saw your face, I ran a facial recognition program through our databanks. I read through your file, and you are now deemed to be this ship's commander."

"My file?"

"Yes. Here," said Kejal as she brought up something which looked like a personnel file regarding Val.

"I can't read Cardassian," said Val.

"Oh. Of course, captain. That's your name," she said as she pointed to some words on the screen next to an image of his face. "And this says 'Starfleet officer Val Shin is a level 2 Bureau operative.'"

"Come again," said Val.

"I do not understand that request," said Kejal.

"I mean, what does that mean? Level 2 operative."

"I do not understand. It means what it says. You are a level 2 operative. One step above a level 3 and one step below a level 1."

"What's the Bureau?" Val asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Ah. I believe you wish for your sergeants to leave the room?"

"No. No. You can explain with them here."

"But, I don't understand," said Kejal. Now it was she who had the puzzled look on her face. "It is my understanding that Bureau operatives sometimes feign ignorance to deny knowledge of their agency's existence to civilians."

"No. no," said Val. "This is real ignorance." Val felt stupid for saying that. "Please explain to me what the Bureau is."

"The Bureau is shorthand for the Federation's Bureau of Interstellar Security; or Bureau of Interstellar Stability. The Obsidian Order is not entirely sure. We only know that the humans call it the Bureau and that it was created pursuant to Article 14, Section 31 of the Starfleet Charter."

"And you think I belong to this organization?"

"The file says you do."

"You're a thirty-one!" said Driver in surprise.

"Wait, what? You've heard of this?" asked Val.

"Yea. Well, rumors of it. Starfleet Intel, Sub-Division 31. Clandestine activities group, interstellar security. It's rumored they poach MARCO officers from time to time."

"There's no such thing as sub-division 31. Or the Bureau, for that matter. And I'm not a level 2 operative of this phantom bureau."

"Yea, well, that's what a thirty-one *would* say," said Driver.

"Well, then what would someone who's not a thirty-one say? That he is one?" retorted an exasperated Val.

"The captain doesn't strike me as a thirty-one," said Sergeant Hall. "But then again, I guess that's the point."

"Oh lord," said Val.

"Of course it exists," said Kejal. "But it is the Order's understanding that the Bureau exists outside the command structure of Starfleet Intelligence. The Bureau appears to be a civilian run operation. It is confusing that some Bureau operatives are uniformed Starfleet officers. There is a note about that in your personnel file, Captain Shin."

"Okay, okay," said Val, who appeared to resign his effort in arguing against the existence of the Bureau. "Let's run with the premise that I'm a so called level 2 operative. It now makes even less sense that you would allow me to command this ship. Would I not be an even greater threat to you? Shouldn't you reject someone like me from commanding this ship?"

"No," said Kejal. "My particular set of directives makes it so that you are now the ship's rightful commander."

"Why?" asked Val.

"This ship is tasked to explore the Gamma quadrant. Under normal circumstances, only a Cardassian Gul would be authorized to command a Galor-class ship. However, because this is an unmanned ship, there is no commander assigned. At the same time this project commenced, the various security agencies of the Alpha quadrant powers met and created an ad hoc alliance for the sole purpose of evaluating any threats from the Gamma quadrant. This alliance comprised of the Obsidian Order, the Romulan Tal Shiar, and the human Bureau. The three agency alliance all sent out ships and agents into the Gamma quadrant and agreed to share information and coordinate actions if threats were identified. The directives embedded for the Vetara's mission states that in the absence of any Cardassian officer, the ship can be lawfully commanded by any officer of the Tal Shiar or Bureau once this ship has left the Alpha quadrant. Because of that specific wording, I have decided that Captain Shin has assumed command of the Vetara. The exobiology tech concurred, and we entered the commands into the central computer accordingly."

"Exobiology tech?" asked Val.

"Yes. I am the Vetara's maintenance technician onboard. The ship has a second holographic program. He is a somewhat less complex program than I, but he is an exobiology survey technician. He keeps track of the various alien species this ship gathers information on."

"Where is he?" asked Driver.

"His program activates once every three months, unless called on by me. His station is research lab 2 on E deck."

Driver tapped his earpiece to open a channel to his men.

"MARCOs, stay away from E deck."

Driver didn't want any of his men running into the hologram by mistake. His six corporals all acknowledged the order.

"You mentioned that Tal Shiar or Bureau agents assume command in the absence of Obsidian Order agents, correct?"

"In absence of any Cardassian officer, whether Obsidian Order or military from the First through Twelfth Orders."

"So, I would lose command once a Cardassian officer arrives onboard?"

"No. Under normal circumstances, a Cardassian Gul commands his ship and remains in command until he cedes it to a succeeding commander, or is legally removed by a Legate from Central Command. That chain of succession protocol remains in effect for Tal Shiar or Bureau agents who assume command of this ship. You may also be relieved if you were to disobey a direct order from Central Command, or Gul Evek. Seeing as we are in the Delta quadrant, I view those scenarios as unlikely."

"Interesting…" thought Val silently. He didn't want to express his concern, but he had worried what might happen if Seska were to arrive and claim this ship as hers. Val bet she didn't think about this whole chain of succession tidbit as she basically gave the ship to him. Then again, Seska was a smart cookie. She may have been willing to lose the Vetara forever just in order to have a shot at taking Voyager. In any case, Seska had grossly miscalculated. Val had a brief conversation on a secure channel with Tuvok earlier in the day. Janeway had already authorized some type of trap to catch Seska red-handed if she were to attempt any further communication with the Kazon-Nistrim. Janeway decided that if Seska were to behave herself the rest of the way, Janeway would forgive her past mistakes. But if Seska fell for the trap, Tuvok would throw her in the brig for the rest of the voyage. Val thought that was fair. After all, he did tell Seska that Janeway knew.

Val had kept secret the part about Seska being an Obsidian Order agent. He had a feeling Janeway would want to giver her a second chance, and if Seska were willing to keep herself out of trouble from now on, it would be better if the crew treated her as they do now. No need to get a fourth or a third of the ship wanting to hang her simply because of her race, which would almost certainly be the case if the maquis knew she were a Cardassian. He only told Tuvok that he suspected Seska of communicating with a hostile enemy. It was up to Tuvok to figure out the exact nature of what Seska was doing.

Val's thought returned to the scene in front of him. He noticed that they had been talking for a while now. He was satisfied with the answers that he had gotten thus far, and wanted to retire to bed. He was already half-asleep about an hour ago. The sudden intrusion spiked Val's adrenaline levels, but now he was starting to feel a little tired again. He was comfortable with assuming that the holographic repair technician would not see him as an intruder onboard this Cardassian ship.

"I think that's enough for tonight. I'm going to spend some time digesting this information," said Val. "Sergeants, you are dismissed. Kejal, please return to monitoring the ship's systems."

"Yes, sir," said Driver.

"I will continue to watch over the ship's systems," said a compliant Kejal.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val took off his uniform jacket and changed into his pajama pants. He really liked the feel of silk on his skin. He fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

In the middle of the night, after a couple hours of deep sleep. He started to rouse. He turned over to look at the small clock on his nightstand. He bumped into something and was immediately startled.

"Ahhhh!" he screamed and jumped out of bed. He blinked a couple of times and put his hand up to his face. A couple of his fingers were digging out the dried protein and salt that accumulated in his eyes during his sleep. His heart was pounding rapidly and strongly, but he tried to calm down.

"Kejal, what are you doing?" he asked as calmly and quietly as possible.

"Are you not pleased?" asked Kejal. "Your file suggested Navaar would make you happy. I am your woman. I want to make you happy."

"Wait. Stop right there." Val took a second to compose himself. "Kejal, you are not my woman."

"But, captain. I am."

"No, you're not."

"Am I not attractive enough? Would you prefer I take on another appearance? A human?" asked Kejal, eager to please Val.

"No, please don't. You're only going to confuse me even more. Your Cardassian appearance is appropriate."

Kejal's hologram flickered for second and she returned to her Cardassian appearance.

"Is this better? You prefer a Cardassian woman as your consort?"

Val put a hand to his forehead. He thought about how he could make himself clearer. For a second, he also worried about Kejal's feelings, but then wondered if holograms had feelings.

"Okay, how's this: I release you from your consort duties. You are free."

"Being your consort is no burden," said Kejal, smiling. "I wish to make you happy."

"Surely you have other desires."

"Your happiness is my sole concern."

Val was thinking the Cardassians were very thorough in programming their mistresses.

"How about your other traits? You're the caretaker of this ship, right? Your maintenance and repair duties. Aren't those your concern as well?"

"They are minor. Nothing ever needs to be repaired. Sporadic monitoring of the ship's systems takes less than a minute."

"Well, what do you do when I'm out and about? When I'm duty on the bridge?"

"My program remains inactive."

"Let's do that. Whenever you're not on duty as the ship's repair tech, you'll stay inactive."

"But… I don't want to stay deactivated," said Kejal. Val wasn't sure, but he thought he almost heard a hint of sadness in her voice. This hologram was probably more lifelike than Val had first imagined. In fact, Kejal was probably more similar to the Doctor aboard Voyager. He too had made some requests to have control over when he could activate or deactivate.

"So, you do have a desire other than to please me," said Val.

"No…" Kejal seemed confused. "I wish to stay activated so I can please you."

"But… what if it pleases me to have you stay inactive."

Kejal looked saddened. "As you wish." Her program disappeared.

Val smiled. Finally, he could get some rest. He went back to bed and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he could sense a guilt trip coming on. What if Kejal had independent wishes and truly didn't want to stay inactive? She would have to obey his orders and stay inactive, but what if she wanted something else? It bothered him for a few seconds.

He decided that he needed sleep. Tomorrow, he would speak with Ensign Harry Kim from Voyager to see if he could teach Val some basic skills on programming personality traits in a hologram. He wanted to give Kejal a hobby or something. Val knew Harry would perform maintenance on the Doctor's holographic program from time to time. The Doctor had a boatload of hobbies.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val managed to get in about 5 hours of sleep. For breakfast, he had a new cereal replicated for him. Another ancient children's cereal. This one was called Count Chocula. It was basically chocolate for breakfast. Val thought of it when one of the MARCOs mentioned the Earth holiday Halloween a couple nights ago. Val only had it once or twice when he was a child. He doused it with milk and then started eating. As he ate, he read through the status reports from Sergeant Julie Hall from the last 8-hour shift. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Ensign Kim sent him a message about holo-programming. He said he would be glad to give tutorials about tweaking holographic programs. However, Janeway had him assigned to multiple projects at present. He could get back to Val in a couple of days. Also, Kim mentioned that Lieutenant Paris was a prolific holo-programmer and that Val might be wise to ask for Tom's help. When Val reached out to Tom, he also responded that he was currently swamped with various assignments. He made the same offer to help in a couple days time.

As he thought about what hobbies he might add to Kejal's programming, the thought also occurred to him whether he should train the MARCOs to learn to operate some of the ship's basic systems. Perhaps Kejal could teach them rudimentary skills. It would be important. But mostly, Val thought the MARCOs might be bored. The bridge and engineering each had a fire team standing guard in rotating 8-hour shifts. He would speak with Sergeant Driver to see what his opinions were about having his MARCOs perform other tasks from time to time.

Val spent most of his afternoon on the bridge. He further familiarized himself with the ship's piloting controls. Although the writing was in Cardassian, he had learned to recognize the basic words that went with the respective controls. He practiced how to set speeds, and how to perform basic maneuvers involving yaw, pitch, and roll.

It was only the third day Val and the MARCOs had adopted the Vetara as their new home. Already, Voyager was several hours ahead of them. With each day that passed, an additional 2 hours and 13 minutes was added to the gap. It would be a while until Voyager sailed out of communications range, though. And Val knew that Voyager would probably stop at some planets along the way out of curiosity. There would be ample opportunities for the ships to meet up. Val thought that it was possible for there to be several "bunching up" points for as long as the next year. He thought about whether he would take Vetara out to explore. If he did, that might pose a problem for catching up with Voyager. At the same time, he probably would want to allow the MARCOs some shore leave from time to time, just as a change of scenery. He put that train of thought to rest and decided that he would cross that bridge when it appeared.

After ten hours on duty, Val headed back to his quarters. He decided to have a meatball sub for dinner. After dinner, he relaxed a little bit and read a novel. A mystery thriller. He took a shower, and then climbed into bed. This time, he wouldn't be caught off guard when Kejal materialized in his quarters. At exactly 1130 hours. That was apparently the default programming. He sat up against the headboard, counting down the seconds. When Kejal materialized, she saw that he was expecting her.

"You would like me to deactivate," Kejal said in a sad voice.

"Not yet," said Val, holding up his left hand as if to signal halt.

A smile came to Kejal's face.

"You would like to engage in intimate relations," she said, still smiling, and walking towards Val's bed.

"No," he said, but smiled back. "Please, have a seat." Val pointed a chair near his bed. About 3 feet to the right of his bed was his desk and chair. Kejal sat down, and swiveled the chair to face Val.

Kejal still had a somewhat goofy grin on her face. It left Val a little unsettled.

"Kejal, I'd like to discuss your programming a little bit."

"Sure, captain."

"I know I can't take the consort subroutines out of your program, is there a way for me to keep them dormant?"

"I do not know. In any event, I would not like to remain dormant."

"I know, I know. I think I can compensate for that soon enough. How about the place you materialize, can I change that? I would like to assign you your own quarters and maybe you can materialize there at night."

"No, only your quarters have the appropriate holo-emitters. No other quarters are equipped in this fashion. Besides, what would I do in a room by myself?"

Val thought about the holo-emitters. It should be easy enough to rip them out of his quarters and install them elsewhere. If necessary, he could always just change quarters. Though, he had gotten attached to the gul's quarters. The next biggest quarters were less than half the size.

"Well, we'll get to that as well. In the next couple days, I am going to attempt to add more subroutines to your program. Maybe give you some interests or hobbies or something to spend your time with."

"Captain, you're going to alter my program?"

"Well, I won't subtract anything out of it, if that concerns you. You'll still be yourself, except with a newly learned skill or something. Maybe music or something. Would you like that?"

"I don't know," said Kejal.

"Well, we'll discuss it together. I won't give you a skill you don't want. We'll work it through."

"Okay," said Kejal in a neutral voice. She didn't sound too excited about it, but Val thought it would be better for her to have some interest in her existence other than pleasuring him in intimate relations.

"Well, I'm going to get some shut eye. Will you please return to engineering?"

"I'm not allowed," said Kejal.

"What do you mean? I just allowed you."

"No. My programming doesn't allow me to perform any function other than as your consort from 2330 hours to 0730 hours, roughly corresponding with first watch. Either I am serving you, or I am inactive."

"But what if the ship needs repairs during those hours?"

"Then… I guess you would have to carry them out. Or one of your men."

"But… what if I'm not here? What if nobody is here? You're the ship's emergency repair technician."

"If you were not here, captain, then my consort subroutines would not be active. As long as you are here in your quarters, during this time frame I cannot be anywhere else."

Val couldn't believe he just walked into such a random catch-22. Normally, he could see such things coming. He was now seriously considering changing quarters. He knew Kejal would be sad if he deactivated her. Or, would she? Do holograms having feelings. Damnit, he thought to himself. He just had this debate with himself the previous night.

"Okay, well, I'm going to sleep. Please feel free to play with the computer," said Val as me rolled over to face the viewport into space.

"Play with the computer? What does that mean?" asked Kejal.

"You know, browse the library. Watch a movie or something. There are earbuds in my backpack."

"Why would I do such things?"

"I don't know. To relax? Occupy yourself with something? You said you didn't want to remain dormant."

"But… I'm an interactive hologram," said Kejal. "If I'm not interacting with you, or doing something for you, then I'm dormant. I can't be a passive receiver of information. Assimilating your computers entire library of video files would probably take me a matter of minutes."

"Okay." Val sat back up in his bed. He thought of what he could do to interact with Kejal. Other than using her in a physical way.

"Grab the padd on my desk. Read to me," said Val.

"Read what?"

"Anything. Pick something from the library."

Kejal started reading the introductory chapter of a textbook on advanced astrophysics. She read it at a fast pace. Her voice was somewhat monotone. Val couldn't decide whether her reading it was putting him to sleep, or annoying the bejeezus out of him. He would have been okay if it put him to sleep. Though, he was afraid it was doing more of the latter.

"Okay, okay," said Val as he put up one of his hands to signal for Kejal to stop. It dawned on him that he was going that a lot in the past few days. "Slow down your speed. And don't just read it as if you're reading it for yourself. Read it as if you were talking to me. In a conversation."

Kejal changed her tone and speed a little bit. It sounded more pleasant. However, it didn't do it. It was still annoying Val more than anything else.

"Okay, stop." Once Kejal stopped reading, Val thought for several moments.

"Okay, bring up my personnel record. Read that to me."

"Wouldn't you already know all this information?" asked a curios Kejal.

"Well, I know who I am. I'm wondering how accurately Cardassian Central Command got it," said Val, smiling.

Kejal brought up Val's service record and started reading.

"It says here you were born in 2343, which gives you 29 years right now. You were born in an area called New York, which would make you an American by culture. Your personnel profile in Cental Command's database was last edited over a year ago. At that time, in standard American units, you were 5 foot 6 inches tall, and weighed 138 pounds, with standard fluctuation of 5 pounds heavier or lighter depending on your current eating habits and activity levels. You have black hair, dark brown eyes. You are right-handed."

"Stop. Those are physical descriptors, read to me about my past? Where did I go to school? Where did I live? That kind of thing."

"Our database does not include that sort of information."

"What was my first posting out of the academy? Where did I spend my summer between second and third years?"

"We do not have access to your Starfleet service record, except for your graduation date from the Academy and whether you were an active officer at the time of the last update to your file. It says here that you were."

"What about my Bureau file, you have that?"

"Of course not. The Bureau doesn't share their files about their operatives. Although, once in a while, they will share lists of their operatives whom the directors believe have been captured behind enemy lines. They sometimes offer spy exchanges with the various agencies, such as Obsidian Order and Tal Shiar. The recent alliance strengthened those exchanges."

"And I was on one of those lists?"

"No. But then again, you hadn't been captured. So you wouldn't show up on that list."

"So how was I identified as a Bureau operative?"

"I doesn't specify exactly. However, there are two typical routes for the Obsidian Order classifying you as a Bureau operative. The first would be if you self-identified as a Bureau operative to an Order agent. This could have happened assigned during a joint Bureau-Order task force. The second route would be if an Obsidian Order agent discovered you were a Bureau agent, without you having admitted it. It is unclear how you were identified. But normally, if an Order agent classifies you as a Bureau agent, he or she would not write something such as 'Mr. X identified to me that he was with the Bureau.' The order agent would have just written in the file that you were Bureau."

"Who was the agent that wrote my file?"

"Multiple people appeared to have edited your file. No agents though. One Order asset, and two analysts. Navaar seems to have written 90% of your file."

"She was an Order analyst?" Val asked in surprise.

"An asset."

"What?"

"It was an aspect of the Federation-Cardassian Treaty of 2370. Both the Obsidian Order and Starfleet Intelligence were allowed to have certain "assets" in the demilitarized zone who would report to them regarding the condition of their peoples. As some Federation colonies and Cardassian colonies switched hands, the situation become complicated when some colonists decided to stay, and found themselves under new administration. Because there were transparency concerns, each side was allowed to have people on the opposite side of the border to report how their ethnic compatriots were treated under foreign administration. Navaar was an Order asset who would occasionally report on how ethnic Cardassians were being treated by the Federation authorities. All intelligence assets were registered with both governments."

"And she labeled me as a Bureau operative?"

"Yes. She was the initial determining factor. Her identification was then analyzed by the home office on Cardassia. Various analysts scoured through as much information as they could find about you. Your travel history and your activities. They then approved your classification as an operative. They did not specify which activities, and your file does not explain why level 2 was attributed to you."

"I see…" The information surprised Val a great deal. When Kejal had taken the appearance of Navaar, Val had surmised that a Cardassian officer may have seen the two of them together while in the DMZ. He would not have guessed that Navaar herself was a Cardassian officer, or reported to one.

Kejal proceeded to read through the entry, which was mostly a history of Navaar's interactions with Val during his mission to a newly annexed planet in the DMZ. Val was a part of the Starfleet contingent that surveyed the planet. He was the deputy oversight officer on the team. Part of his assignment was to make sure that proper humanitarian supplies were reaching all the colonists on the planet, which included an enclave of Cardassians. To his surprise, the Cardassians seemed to get along very well with their human neighbors. There were also a handful of Bolians. Navaar was the captain of a cargo freighter which helped distribute the supplies. She had been contracted by the UFAID, the acronym for the United Federation Agency for Interplanetary Development. The civilian agency was in charge since armed ships were not allowed to enter the demilitarized zone. Navaar was the first Orion Val had ever met. She was named after an ancestor who happened to be one of the first Orions Earth Starfleet made contact with. Val and Navaar got along well.

As Val was thinking back to his first meeting with Navaar, something he heard piqued his interest.

"Wait, wait. Repeat what you just said," requested Val.

"Navaar slept with you during the last three days of your mission."

If Val had been drinking something, he would have most likely spit it out and started coughing. He almost couldn't believe that was in the file. Though, perhaps he should have anticipated something along those lines. But, who in their right mind would include such a detail. And a possibly misleading detail at that.

"Can you edit my file?"

"Of course not. I'm not an Order agent!" said a surprised.

"But what if something in the file is erroneous?"

"The Order does not make mistakes."

"Then why would it ever need to be edited?"

"To add information."

"Okay, then can you add information to that file?"

"No, I cannot. I am not an Order agent."

Val was silent for a few seconds.

"But… I suppose you could enter add information. It is your file. I can enter it under your name. Please just put your thumbprint on the padd."

Kejal handed him the padd and Val placed his thumb on it.

"What would you like me to add?" asked a curious Kejal.

"Really just a clarification."

"Okay, captain. Clarify."

"Navaar did not sleep with me. She slept in proximity to me. Next to me."

"Okay," said a confused Kejal.

"Also add that a few days after our arrival, there was a strong storm which hit the compound we were staying in. Half the habitat was destroyed. We had to double up in our rooms. Navaar's room had been destroyed and she chose to double with me. It was completely innocent."

"I don't know what that means," said Kejal.

"Please, just add it."

"This information was already in the file. A storm hit the compound. Navaar's room was destroyed. As a result, she went to your room and slept with you for the remaining three nights."

"Near me. Change it to near me. Not with me."

"I can't change it. But I will add that she was also near you. Which I believe would be obvious."

"No, no. Not near me in addition to with me. Take out the word with!"

"I can't take that out. But I will add that it should be near and not with."

"Okay. Thank you," said Val. Kejal saw that Val seemed relieved. She was still confused, but did not pursue it.

Kejal continued to read the file. It was basically information about Navaar and Val's interactions for the remaining three days. Val checked on the wellbeing of the colonists as Navaar delivered aid. After a few minutes, Val had fallen asleep.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is all just a huge misunderstanding!" screamed Deputy Undersecretary Keith Jordan.

He was caught in the crossfire as MARCOs were advancing from the south side of the building and Cardassian troops from the north side.

Val was right next to him, taking cover behind the abandoned building. They had both been running the past 7 minutes.

Keith Jordan was a deputy undersecretary in diplomatic affairs department. Val had accompanied him and nine others as part of a diplomatic and legal team to secretly negotiate a cease fire between the United Federation of Planets and the Cardassian Union. The year is 2369. This was Val's first field assignment, only a month after his promotion from lieutenant junior grade to full lieutenant. Val just realized, he was dreaming about his past. Often, when he discovered that he was in a dream, he would be able to wake himself up, or control some aspects of the dream. This time, he couldn't. He would simply watch the dream unfold.

Seven minutes ago, the negotiations looked promising. It was the second meeting between the deputy undersecretary and a legate from Cardassia's central command. Suddenly, one of the legate's aides handed him a report. The legate then accused the Federation of attempting to assassinate him. His personal bodyguards found multiple bombs planted at the meeting site.

The bodyguards drew their weapons.

"We're not a threat to you," said Jordan. "We didn't plant those bombs."

"Quiet!" said one of the bodyguards. He then shot his disruptor at one of the undersecretary's assistants. The assistant was able to dodge the shot. However, this resulted in the lead Starfleet officer to draw his phaser and fire. A firefight had ensued. One of the undersecretary's bodyguards tossed a phaser to Val. But even with Val's addition, only 5 of the Federation team were armed. The Starfleet security chief ordered everyone to fall back to the extraction point, and the Federation civilians fled while the three Starfleet officers covered the retreat.

The MARCOs met up with the undersecretary's team at the abandoned building.

"Val!" screamed his friend Aaron.

Val turned his attention to the direction of the MARCOs. Aaron threw him a couple of unused grenades and an earpiece. Val put on the earpiece.

"Aaron, we've got at least a dozen Cardies on our six."

"Val, we can't go back to the transport."

"Why?"

"It was attacked. It's now a fireball. Both pilots are dead."

"Great," said Val. That was their only way off this godforsaken rock.

"Listen. Listen! We've got alternate transport. Take your team six clicks to the east. There's a Cardassian shuttle there. Catch this!"

Aaron threw an access cardkey which Val luckily caught.

"That'll allow you to get onboard. Once on, enter the code I wrote down on the piece of paper I wrapped around on those grenades I just passed to you. It's in Cardassian but I'm sure you'll figure it out. Once you get the engines going, you can show my some of those magical flying skills I remember from back in advanced training."

"Got it!" said Val.

"You and your fleet buddies take point. The civvies follow. Me and my MARCOs will cover your butts. Run!"

The plan went off as devised. They met no resistance on the way to the shuttle, and the MARCOs successfully fended off the chasing Cardassians.

Once they got onboard, Val flew the shuttle off the moon and they successfully rendezvoused with the U.S.S. Jackson, back in Federation space.

As Val was about to leave the Jackson to return to his fun old desk job, Aaron went to see him off.

"Thanks bro. I guess I owe you my life. The whole team owes you our lives," said Val

"You do indeed," said Aaron. "Nice flying, by the way." Aaron smiled. "I'm not going to go as far as to say we're even, but I'm thinking those civilian pilots for the diplomatic service may not have dodged the anti-aircraft fire as artfully as you did."

"Yea. Thanks."

"Oh, by the way, you owe one of my sergeant's lunch, seeing as how your terrible flying caused him to lose it."

Val and Aaron laughed it up.

As they parted ways, Val said thanks again.

"No problem, man. That's what us MARCOs do, bail you fleet boys out of trouble. You're as bad as the civvies."

"I'll make a note of that."

"Oh, by the way," said Aaron, "you also have the Obsidian Order to thank."

"Why?"

"One of them apparently had a crush on you," joked Aaron.

"Funny."

"Well, for real, I was approached secretly by three of their agents once the diplomat transport exploded. One of them gave us the access key and the code. They also jammed communications frequencies so the Cardassian ships in orbit wouldn't know what was happening. They saved us all."

"Why would they do that? At the same time they were trying to kill us all?"

"Well, the one I spoke to said that it was in the Order's interests for the Federation and the Union to make peace. It was in the Union's interest. She said those that planted the bombs at the peace conference were enemies of the state. And, get this, the one that approached me, was a freakin' Bajoran. Her colleagues weren't Cardassians either."

"Bajoran, eh?"

"Yea, she was surgically altered or something."

"What was her name?"

"Can't remember? Something with a 'K'?" joked Aaron. It was a running joke the two of them had. During advanced training, Val and Aaron noticed that there were an unusually high number of girls in their units with the name Katie. And a handful of girls named Kelly. Over half of the girls had names starting with the letter K.

The two of them bumped fists as Val walked towards his shuttle. It was the final boarding call.

His dream then turned to his final minutes with his friend Navaar. Now, it was the two of them saying goodbye.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val awoke slowly. He knew he had been dreaming, but couldn't quite remember what about. His pillow was no longer under his head. It was on his chest, and he had one arm around it. He slowly turned to his nightstand to check his timepiece.

"Ah!" he said, momentarily startled.

Kejal had been sitting on the chair at his desk, looking in his direction.

"What time is it?" asked Val.

"0628 hours."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"For at least 5 hours 40 minutes. I didn't notice the exact minute."

"And you've been sitting there this whole time?"

"Of course."

"Why didn't you deactivate?"

"You didn't order it."

"Do not discuss with the crew anything about watching me sleep, or anything we talked about yesterday night."

"Of course not. A consort would never talk about her captain."

"Right."

"The Order asset Navaar was correct. You are cute when you are asleep."

"Haha," Val said in a mocking tone. He threw his pillow at her. "Deactivate."

Kejal's program disappeared. Val set his alarm for 0730 hours and went back to bed.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was 1000 hours. Staff Sergeant Driver arrived at engineering. Val knew that Kejal didn't have much to do, so he told her to brief Sergeants Driver, Hall, and Raines on what alien species she had come into contact with since the Vetara's arrival in the Delta Quadrant. There was at least one, the Krowtonan Guard.

The briefing only took 20 minutes.

"Sergeant Driver, may I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure."

"The English language confuses me. What does it mean when a person sleeps with another person."

"Um…" said Driver. He didn't know if he should explain this. "Well, when one person sleeps with another person, that usually means they go to bed together and hook up." Driver knew that she probably wouldn't know what hooking up meant, but he really didn't want to have this conversation.

"I see," said Kejal. She was still puzzled.

"Would there be a difference between a female sleeping with a male, versus a female sleeping next a male, or in proximity?" Kejal emphasized the words "with" and "next."

"Oh, well, usually when a female says that she slept with a male, it would imply some sort of romantic entanglement. The distinction would be that non-romantic partners may sleep near each other, but the word with would not be used in a non-romantic setting."

"I see."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sergeant, please have a seat," said Val.

Staff Sergeant Driver had asked to speak with Val, and Val invited him to meet in the gul's office next to the Vetara's bridge.

The office was tiny; somewhere between one-half and one-third of the size of Janeway's office on Voyager. But it was still big enough to have a desk, the captain's chair, and two other chairs on the opposite side of the desk.

"With all due respect, sir, your personal matters are private, but are you sleeping with the Cardassian hologram?"

Val was taken aback.

"What? No," said Val emphatically.

"Okay," said Driver. He would take his captain at his word. Driver was about to get up, but Val motioned for him to stop.

"What makes you ask that question? Is that what your MARCOs are thinking?"

"No, sir. It's just that the hologram asked me a weird question this morning. Asked me what the phrase meant when a person was sleeping with someone."

"Oh. I can explain that. I had asked her about the file the Cardassians apparently have on me. The one that says I'm a Bureau agent. In the file, it mentions that I slept with an Orion named Navaar on one of my past assignments. In reality, we slept in the same room. Just a subtle difference, I guess."

"I see. Thank you for that clarification."

"While you're here, sergeant, I wanted to get your opinion on something."

"Sure, sir."

"There may be a member of Voyager's crew who has decided to defect to the Kazon, and possibly spying for the Kazon at this moment. I am wondering whether it would be better if we moved the MARCOs back onto Voyager to help defend the ship in case of an attempt to commandeer her. Any thoughts on this?"

"Well, although I would rather us MARCOs stay where we are, if there is true danger to Voyager and we can help, I think that would be something we should do. Perhaps Voyager should slow down and we can convoy together. I think that would be the best course of action. But you are in command and I defer to your judgment. If it is your call that we go back to Voyager, we will of course do that."

"But you wouldn't want that?"

"No, I would prefer not. We don't mix with the maquis. Though, in the event of a Kazon attempt at taking the ship over, I suppose we may bond in the midst of battle. Stranger things have happened."

"I see."

"May I ask a question, sir?"

"Go ahead."

"It's a member of the maquis, isn't it?"

"Well, the particular person hasn't been caught red-handed yet. Why would you say it's a maquis."

"It would make most sense. The crew of Voyager seemed the most adamant about finding a way home. Some or most of the maquis seemed a little ambivalent about it. I probably would be if I knew I was heading for the brig once the ship returned to the alpha quadrant. Many of the maquis really had nothing to go home to. Some were petty criminals. Some were just violent thugs looking to wreak havoc. I don't really know how Janeway keeps them in line."

"Chakotay's a strong first officer."

"Chakotay's a freakin' clown," said an annoyed Driver.

"That may be, but he's a clown who outranks you. If we have to return to Voyager, please at least pretend that you respect the chain of command."

"Really, it's ultimately his fault we're in this mess."

"His fault, Janeway's fault, my fault. We're all at least partially responsible. Look, it doesn't matter anymore. We need to move forward."

"So, he had a Starfleet spy planted in his ranks, and now a Kazon spy is in his ranks. Ridiculous. At this rate, Torres might turn out to be a spy for the Klingons and maybe one of his men is an informant for the Cardassian Central Command!"

Val was a little surprised Driver stumbled into that. Though, he knew Driver didn't know. He would tell Driver anyway.

"Indeed. There was a Cardassian agent in his ranks. That person is the one who handed you the codes to this ship. I guess you should be thankful in the end."

Driver's face showed a man in disbelief. He had forgotten about the codes.

"The man's a freakin' clown," he insisted again. "Both a Starfleet *and* a Cardassian spy planted into his cell. How the hell did he elude capture."

"Word has it he's a very resourceful individual. After all, he was an above average Starfleet officer before he left the fleet."

"You mean, before he turned into a traitor and joined a terrorist organization."

"Yea. That."

"What makes a man do something like that?" asked an even more annoyed Driver. "I mean, what makes a decent man turn into a traitor?"

"Hey. Every man has his own story. I'm sure in his mind, Chakotay sees himself as a victim of his circumstances. Or perhaps even some kind of noble martyr. I know when I write my memoirs, I'll be a goddamn superhero."

"With lasers shooting out of your eyeballs?" joked Driver.

"Both laser vision *and* x-ray vision. I'm a double threat. Assault capabilities along with information gathering. I haven't learned to fly yet. That's next on my list." Val was glad he could get Driver to lighten up.

"Well, you can fly a starship. That's good enough for me."

"Thanks."

"Anyway, the man's been decorated for valor multiple times."

"You mean twice."

"Hey! Two is multiple."

"I've got corporals more highly decorated."

"Well… that just means MARCOs get medals handed to them and Starfleet officers actually earn them," joked Val

"Well, we know that can't possibly be the case, since you have one," retorted Driver.

"Nice."

"With respect, sir, I was wondering what you got your medal for. I know it was in the same action as one of Major Douglas' medals."

"Sorry, sergeant, it's heavily classified."

"I know. Can't even give me a hint, eh?"

"Nope. It's very weird they even make the medal known in my record. I was just at the wrong place in the wrong time, I guess."

"But… you were the right person at that wrong place. And you performed. I believe a British admiral once said that heroes are just ordinary people who rise up in extraordinary situations."

"Right. Or maybe I just got lucky."

"Hey, you saved many lives. Or so I hear. I wonder who you saved."

"Classified, sergeant."

"Exactly what a member of the Bureau would say," joked Driver.

"If you must know, I was on duty as a lawyer," said Val. "Unfortunately, we were somewhere we weren't supposed to be. On the wrong side of the line drawn on a map by the politicians. I helped get us out of a dicey situation. The end."

"Nice. Hopefully, no dicey situations for us!"

Just then the ship shook.

"What the hell was that?" asked Val.

Both Val and Driver stepped out onto the bridge.

"Report!" said Val.

"I… I don't know," said Sergeant Hall.

The ship shook again. This time, multiple alarms started sounding. Val contacted engineering. "Kejal, report!"

"We're being attacked!" came a frantic voice.

Val went over to the navigator's station. Multiple dots were moving toward the ship. The Vetara had automatically raised shields. Weapons were brought on line.


	4. In Bed With

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This long chapter involves two major arcs. The first arc is the discovery of an entity called the Krowtonan High Guard. They have allied themselves with the USS Solstice, which arrived in the Delta Quadrant in a similar way to the USS Voyager. The second arc involves the second hologram from the (originally-intended) unmanned exploration ship Vetara.

Title: In Bed With

Val was frantically toggling through the displays and looking down at his padd from time to time for translations of the Cardassian symbols on the screens.

What he was reading didn't make any sense. Not because it was in a foreign language; but because nothing seemed to be hitting the Vetara. He flipped the screen back to a shipwide damage control schematic. No damage. Shields were holding at 100%.

The ship rattled one more time before Val started to figure it out. One by one, the multiple dots entered into short range sensors but disappeared as they got closer to the Vetara. Val brought up the visual sensors and magnified the image. It was fuzzy, but he could see that there were two groups of small spacecraft battling nearby and as one was destroyed, the explosion sent out a shockwave which shook the Vetara.

Val wasn't entirely sure what to do. As he watched for a few more minutes, he could tell that one side had superior spacecraft, and the others were barely putting up a fight. In fact, the inferior ships seemed more intent on fleeing the scene.

Soon, he decided to pull the Vetara into the mix to protect the inferior craft. He could be making a mistake. The inferior craft could be full of criminals trying to make an escape. But he wanted to halt the bloodshed. If necessary, he would have the Vetara itself chase down the criminals, as it seemed his ship was capable of speeds well outpacing either of the two groups.

As the Vetara started to maneuver, Val figured out yet another trend. The fleeing spacecraft seemed to have been heading straight for the Vetara. He couldn't tell exactly what that meant, but he thought one possibility was that the fleeing craft were seeking protection from the significantly larger Cardassian warship.

As the distance between the Vetara and the smaller spacecraft diminished, Val received a message, audio only.

"Alien ship, this is an internal matter. Please exclude yourself from the situation."

"May I ask what this is about?" inquired Val.

"No."

The comm channel closed. Val brought his ship to an all stop. The visual sensors were able to capture more crisp images of the spacecraft. Val loaded them onto his padd and started a comparison search. The results came back in 5 seconds, and hits came from Neelix's Talaxian database which he shared with Voyager. Both sets of spacecraft were of Krowtonan design. One set were medium corvettes of the high guard. The fleeing set were lightly armed scout fighters.

Val remembered some minor tidbits about the Krowtonan High Guard during Neelix's briefing when Voyager first encountered the Vetara. They were a significant military force spread out through many nearby sectors of space. Val did not wish to make a omnipresent enemy. He decided to stay out of the situation. However, he was slightly saddened as he watched a half dozen scout fighters destroyed at the hands of the slightly larger ships.

Within 15 minutes, three larger ships dropped out of warp. Val identified them as Krowtonan frigates, about one-fourth the size of the Vetara.

They hailed the Vetara.

"Cardassian ship, prepare to be boarded." The channel closed.

"What?" thought Val to himself. He opened a channel to the nearest frigate.

"Alien vessels. I do not understand, we stayed out of your fight."

No response came. Two frigates closed in on the Vetara, one each on the starboard and port sides. The rest of the Krowtonan ships formed a circle around the Vetara and charged their weapons.

Val wanted to put up a fight, but he did some quick math and ran some battle scenarios in his head. So far, all scenarios wound up in the Vetara succumbing in a likely explosion.

Another message came from the alien commander.

"Cardassian vessel, I repeat: lower your shields and release your docking airlocks. Prepare to be boarded."

Val just realized that the aliens did not have beaming technology. They were going to physically board the ship through the airlocks. This gave him a potential leveling of the playing field. The airlocks were extremely narrow. Only one or at best two people could come through at a time. They were natural choke points.

Val gave a quick glance at Staff Sergeant Nathan Driver.

"On it," said the staff sergeant.

Driver tapped his earpiece.

"Matt, you and 2nd squad take the port side."

Sergeant Matthew Raines acknowledged the order as Driver and Sergeant Hall sprinted out of the room, heading for the starboard airlock. Val was all alone on the bridge now. He opened a channel.

"Alien vessels, we will comply with your request."

He lowered the ship's shields, at a painstakingly slow pace. At about 5% every second, it would take 20 seconds for the shields to come down. Then, probably another 20 seconds for the alien ships to maneuver and pull alongside the Vetara and maybe 5 more to create an airtight seal. That was plenty of time for the MARCO squads to take up defensive positions.

Val monitored the situation as the alien ships pulled near. The Cardassian sensors were able to read the life signs aboard the alien frigates. Val could see a cluster of about 15 soldiers in each of the ships' airlocks. This might actually be a fair fight after all. Although, he saw that each ship probably had at least dozens more personnel.

His mind raced while trying to evaluate the situation. What was happening here? Why are the aliens doing this? The short answer, of course, was because they could.

After a second, he realized that if the aliens had wanted to destroy his ship, they could have. There was something on the ship that the aliens wanted. The only answer he could come up with was the beaming technology.

Then, another thought occurred to him. If his MARCO troopers were to be overwhelmed, he could just beam the alien soldiers away. Possibly out into space, thus neutralizing them.

He tapped his own earpiece.

"Kejal, what is the capacity of the Vetara's transporters. How many people can I beam simultaneously?"

"The Vetara has two transporters, each capable of beaming four persons simultaneously."

Val's fingers quickly flew across the computer screen.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Back away!" screamed Driver.

He wasn't yelling at the intruders. He was yelling orders to his own men. The alien boarding party wasn't going to be as stupid as to walk through a narrow corridor into hostile territory. They threw multiple grenades through the airlock prior to advancing onto the Vetara.

Driver tapped his earpiece.

"Sir! We've got a huge freakin' problem!" he screamed.

"I see that," said Val as calmly as he could. He was watching his screen as a dozen alien soldiers poured onto his ship through each of the docking ports.

"Pull your men behind the emergency thresholds, I'll seal the hallways," said Val.

This wasn't going to be a long-term solution. Sooner or later, the weapons fire from the alien soldiers would take down the forcefields. They had been designed to contain an airleak, not explosive fire. Val started to beam the alien soldiers into space, as his original back-up plan called for.

That wasn't working as well either. Multiple reinforcements poured in from the alien ships. Faster than he could beam them off. The forcefields were now half depleted. Val decided on a hail mary.

"Driver, I'm sending you onto the alien ships."

"What!"

"I am beaming you and seven of your men onto the ship to our starboard. Straight onto their bridge. You get me control of that bridge!"

The staff sergeant cursed under his breath. Though, a part of him lived for this.

"Before I send you, I'll beam over some cover. I'll gas 'em and beam you over in a 5 second delay."

The alien ship to the port side got lucky. Val's first impulse was to beam a torpedo right onto their bridge. However, he decided against that, seeing as how a ship implosion so close to his own ship might do some serious damage.

"Here we go!" said Val.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The alien soldiers had broken through the forcefields. Val now had a hard decision to make. His MARCO troopers were falling back. A couple were wounded. Two seconds ago, he just beamed Driver and his team onto the alien ship's bridge. Should he reinforce Driver, and weaken his defenses? Driver was going to have his hands full. Val decided the quickest way to resolve this was to send reinforcements. He beamed another 8 troopers to aid Driver.

Immediately, Val opened a channel to the alien vessels.

"I now have control over one your ships and will soon acquire control of the second. Charge down your weapons and recall your boarding teams."

Val wasn't sure how well his bluff would work. Driver did not yet confirm he attained control. He had beamed a few gas canisters and also a few grenades onto the port side ship in order to cause some confusion. But he wasn't going to send any troopers there. His men were stretched too thin.

To his surprise, the alien ships did in fact charge down their weapons. The boarding parties were not recalled, but they stopped firing and held position.

"I've got injured," shouted Sergeant Raines over his mic.

"Who's the medic in your platoon?" asked Val. He hoped he didn't just beam the medic over to the other ship.

"We deployed without one," said Raines slightly frantic. "When we downsized from 3 squads to 2, we lost him. We were told to rely on Voyager's medical personnel if needed."

"Great," Val thought to himself.

"Take them to sickbay. I'll meet you there," said Val.

Val took two semesters of medical science. One involved microscopes. That wasn't going to help him here. He hadn't lost a man under his command before. This was turning out to be one hell of a day.

"Captain!" came two voices simultaneously over his earpiece. They were Kejal and Driver. He guessed Kejal was coming in with a damage report of the ship and Driver was going to give him good news from the alien ship's bridge.

"Driver first, then Kejal," said Val.

"There's something you need to see, sir," said Driver.

"Can it wait?"

"You should beam yourself over here as soon as possible."

"Kejal?"

"I wish to meet with your men at sickbay, I can help."

"Do it," said Val. He wanted to inquire as to how Kejal could help, but Driver sounded like he had an emergency.

"Raines, meet with Kejal. I'll be off-ship with your platoon sergeant."

"Yes, sir."

Val walked back a few feet to where he had been sitting before. He beamed himself over to the alien ship's bridge.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Place him over here," said Kejal.

Two injured MARCO troopers entered sickbay helped by their colleagues. They were both shot in the torso. One in her abdomen, the other in his chest. The alien soldiers had good aim, it seems. Though, not good enough to have been aiming for head shots.

Kejal's hands flew over one of the nearby computer consoles.

Another Cardassian hologram materialized.

"Zet, these are Captain Shin's men. They have been gravely injured."

"What happened?" asked Zet in a calm voice. It was an interesting switch from the medical hologram on Voyager, who often began speaking in a more frustrated voice.

"We were boarded," responded Corporal Samantha Logan.

Zet seemed to be a capable medic.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Attention on deck!" Val heard as he materialized onto the alien ship's bridge.

However, the person who said it was not Sergeant Driver, or any of his marines.

The alien officers stood up straight. They all seemed to be of the same race. Skin was slightly tan. Their knees bent backwards instead of forwards like the humans. Though, their feet faced forwards. They were slightly taller than the average human.

Val understood why Driver had asked him to beam over. The alien who stood in front of what seemed to be the captain's chair wore a unique badge on his chest, in the middle above the sternum. It was a Starfleet combadge.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There, good as new," said Zet.

Both of the injured MARCOs had been treated and were up and about.

"Thank you, Doctor," said Sergeant Raines.

"Not a problem," he said with a smile.

"My men and I have to return to our post," he told Kejal. "Thank you both."

Kejal nodded and the MARCOs left sickbay. Raines wanted to keep a close eye on his alien guests.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The alien with the combadge approached Val.

"Sir. I am Pow Beeshar. I command this vessel."

The alien extended his hand in a gesture as if he wished to shake hands. Val extended his hand in return. They didn't quite shake hands. The alien's hand grabbed Val's wrist, and Val did the same. He figured it was the Krowtonan handshake. Val would later learn that Pow was the Krowtonan rank that was roughly equivalent to Starfleet lieutenant.

"Please forgive my actions," said Beeshar. "We were not aware that there were additional Starfleet ships in this area of space."

"May I ask which ship you are allied with?" asked Val. He was certain it was not Voyager.

"The Krowtonan High Guard has absorbed the U.S.S. Solstice into our fleet. She is the flagship for this sector. We've just sent a communication and she should be arriving shortly."

A human walked onto the bridge. She wore the uniform of an operations division officer. She was in either security or engineering.

"Captain, allow me to introduce to you Ensign Marlena Gilmore, on loan from the Solstice," said Beeshar as she walked toward the two.

"Sir," she said. The two did not shake hands, she stood at attention.

"You can stand at ease, ensign," said Val.

The two of them talked for a little while. The Solstice was a Nova-class exploration ship that got pulled into the delta quadrant by the same entity that brought Voyager there. The incident occurred less than a year before Voyager's arrival. Almost immediately, the Solstice got caught in the brewing war between the Kazon and the Krowtonan.

Beeshar interrupted the conversation.

"Captain Shin, I have a matter of urgency."

"Yes?"

"If I may, might I request you beam back my soldiers onto my ships?"

Val had forgotten about that whole incident. He had beamed off over a dozen of the boarding soldiers into the space.

"I regret having done that," said Val. "I would not have killed them if I had known."

The alien officer attempted to brush away Val's worries.

"Please, captain, do not be troubled. My boarding parties all wear life sustaining environmental equipment in the event the commander of the ships they board decide to vent the atmosphere in the compartments. My men are alive and well. They are simply floating about in space. It would be good to have them back."

Val nodded. He had Kejal lock onto the alien signals and beam them back onto Beeshar's ship.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I see," said Val.

He just sat through an hourlong briefing of background information about the Krowtonan High Guard. Up until two years ago, the Krowtonan were the dominant entity of this part of the delta quadrant. Then, suddenly, some of the outlying colonies started to rebel against the Emperor and things quickly disintegrated within a span of weeks. The contagion spread like wildfire. The various rebellions were crushed, with some arguably heavy-handed tactics. But the rebellions proved to be the distraction that Krowtonan enemies were waiting for. The Kazon and the Vidiians launched simultaneous attacks on multiple fronts against the once unassailable Krowtonan. Since then, there have been advances back and forth. The Vidiians were largely taken out of the picture when a Krowtonan scientist devised a biological agent which brought the Vidiians to the edge of extinction. Less than 10% of their population was immune to the effects. They are now concentrated on rebuilding and have a tentative non-aggression pact with the Krowtonan. The Kazon stand alone as the major enemy, although there are a few much smaller nations which have also joined the fray. At the same time, various rebellions flared up from time to time, and a few flotillas of the Krowtonan Guard have even defected. The regional dukes were attempting to give concessions to their populaces, but some have turned down negotiations for full-blown revolution. Many Krowtonan sectors outside of Krowtona Prime are now at risk of downfall.

A few days after the Solstice started her trip home, she was suffered a heavy assault by ships of a mid-rate Kazon sect. The ship escaped its first encounter with the Kazon, but almost perished in the next. A mere seconds from total destruction, she was saved by a squadron of Krowtonan cruisers. That was the beginning of the budding alliance.

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The U.S.S. Solstice arrived two days later. Pow Beehsar and his ship had stayed behind while the others returned to their patrols.

Val was invited onto the Solstice. He brought Sergeant Driver with him. Beeshar escorted them to the Solstice's mess hall.

"Captain, this is the Forward Forces Commander for this theatre of operations," said Beeshar as he introduced a young human officer.

"Max Burke," he said, extending his hand.

"Val Shin." The two of them shook hands.

Burke was slightly taller than Val, and slightly older. Burke was probably in his mid to late 30s. He wore a Starfleet uniform within the red division, same as Val. His rank insignia had changed, Val didn't know what it symbolized.

"I've been reading Beeshar's report on you," said Burke. "Interesting situation we find ourselves in."

The two officers sat down and talked for a while. The Krowtonan Guard did not have any ships of comparable size to the Vetara. They had records of having encountered this ship once, but it was deserted and the Guard was unsuccessful in reactivating it. Beeshar's flotilla captain had believed upon stumbling onto the Vetara that a band of salvage operators had somehow managed to bring it back on line. The Krowtonan Empire was in a state of emergency, and martial law allowed the High Guard to confiscate any spacefaring vessel as long as the owners were fairly compensated. Beeshar had orders to confiscate the Vetara.

"We could use an additional ship," said Burke. "Consider joining us."

Val promised that he would take the offer under advisement.

"How many humans are left onboard?" asked Val. The crew of the Solstice had been augmented with many Krowtonan crewmembers. And some of the original Solstice crew were loaned out to nearby ships. The Chief of Fleet Operations had thought it would help to mix up the crews so they cold learn from each other.

"We have 39 here. 35 have been assigned to other ships or installations. There's actually a planet several sectors from here that has a human colony on it. Not entirely sure how that happened. Apparently, they were taken from Earth in the 1930s and have developed a civilization here in the Delta Quadrant. They number about a hundred thousand. Capital city is called Evansville. I believe their leader is named John Evans. His ancestors founded the colony.

The Solstice only discovered them very recently, but we have been in contact. They aren't a spacefaring race, but they are considering allying themselves with the Krowtonan. A good number of their youth are interested in serving in the Krowtonan High Guard."

Another Starfleet officer walked into the mess hall. He wore a uniform in the operations division.

"Admiral Burke," he said. "Here are reports from some of the Home Guard units. Their commander is holding off requesting reinforcement from High Guard ships, but the situation is fluid."

"Thank you," said Burke and his officer handed him a padd.

"Captain Shin," said Beeshar. "This is Captain Thomas Riker. He commands this ship."

"Good to meet you," said Val.

"Same here."

Thomas Riker was originally the second-in-command onboard the Solstice. He had been seriously injured during the voyage to the delta quadrant. A few days later, Captain Rudolph Ransom would likewise be incapacitated, by a Kazon assault. This left Max Burke as the most senior officer, and he did an admirable job keeping Solstice flying.

When the Solstice entered into their alliance with the Krowtonan, the then Area Commander took a liking to Burke and made him his chief of staff. Ransom resumed his captaincy until the Solstice discovered Evansville. The Krowtonan Emperor decided to make Rudy his liaison with the human colony, and Riker was promoted to captain. Burke was eventually promoted to the Krowtonan equivalent of Vice Admiral and given command over a High Guard fleet. He made the Solstice his flagship.

The Emperor allowed Solstice's beaming technology and replicator technology to be copied only to a handful of his other flagships, whose commanders he trusted were completely loyal to him.

"By any chance, have you detected Voyager? She would make a strong addition to the fleet," said Val.

"Actually, we're avoiding her," said Burke. "I've given standing orders for all elements under my command to steer clear and leave her on her way."

"Why?" asked Val. He was very curious about this.

"Voyager's captain, Jenkins, is it?"

"Janeway."

"Right. Captain Janeway has forged various alliances with entities the Krowtonan at currently at war with."

"Really?" asked Val in surprise.

"Yes. The Krowtonan are currently at war with the Haakonian. They are a conglomerate of races, which includes the Talaxians. I believe Janeway allied herself strongly with the Talaxians to defend herself against the Kazon."

"I see…" said Val. Although, in his previous understanding, the Haakonian had conquered Talax, and spread the Talaxian people all across the quadrant. In addition, the distinct Talaxian sects did not always get along with each other. Either way, Val wasn't going to push the issue.

Vice Admiral Maximus Orwell Burke did not explain the whole truth to Val. The Krowtonan Guard was split into two main forces, the Home Guard and the High Guard. One was responsible for maintaining order internally within the Krowtonan kingdoms. The other was responsible for defense against outside forces. Although Burke commanded a High Guard fleet, his ships were often called upon to aid Home Guard units in suppressing various rebellions. This sometimes required very brutal actions, which Burke knew Janeway would not approve of. In fact, Burke wasn't sure how he would keep that information away from Shin. But Burke did not feel as threatened by the young captain. Vetara was nowhere near as advanced a ship and her offensive capabilities were somewhat limited when compared to Voyager. In addition, Shin basically had no crew, and he would not be a threat to Burke even if Shin strongly opposed Burke's actions.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Val invited Burke to tour the Vetara. Burke took up the offer and found the tour relaxing. Burke was now slightly more interested in taking the ship. He would rather Shin join the Krowtonan voluntarily though.

Riker contacted Burke in the midst of the tour.

"Admiral, the Fearless has dropped out of warp."

"Acknowledged," said Burke.

"His Grace requests permission to board the Vetara," added Riker.

Burke looked at Val. "Do I have permission, captain?" he asked.

"Sure," said Val.

Val and Max entertained Krowtona's First Fleet Lord in the Vetara's mess hall. The nobleman was the third in command of the entire High Guard, after the Emperor himself, and the emperor's son, the Crown Prince.

The three of them got along well. The nobleman was very polite. Very proper. Val would not have guessed he was in charge of combat operations.

The conversation soon turned into business. The lord expressed his annoyance to Burke that the Home Minister was still too frequently resorting to requesting high guard units to perform home guard activities. As a result, his ships were being split in multiple directions. Communications were starting to become a headache because the ships were required to stay in contact with their flagship at all times, but with more far flung missions separating them all, the communications signals were degrading too rapidly.

Burke said he would get some of his engineers to take a look at the problem. The nobleman expressed his frustration that many of his engineers had already looked at ways to boost the signal strength, but could come to no solution.

"You could probably try relay shuttles," suggested Val.

"Pardon?" said the nobleman.

"Relay shuttles."

"You mean, have shuttles fly messages back and forth between ships?" asked the amused nobleman.

"Not quite," said Val. "You could use the shuttles as relay stations."

"We use this concept in Starfleet," said Burke. "We have relay stations placed in locations the Federation has deemed as 'crossroads' where ships would have to pass prior to proceeding to their destinations. Since our starbases were often too far from where the starships were heading, communications signals between the two could risk getting lost. So the signals are sent to a way station and then boosted and re-sent. On various exploratory missions, when two ships had to separate far distances, one would leave a shuttle behind and it would function as a temporary relay station."

"Interesting," said the nobleman.

"Since creating the relay stations might take time, you could probably leave a shuttlepod at a convenient middle point. It would be a stopgap before you finish constructing a relay station," said Val

"A station would be a big undertaking. I'm not sure it would be worth the trouble. But this shuttle idea merits consideration." The nobleman was pleased.

"We probably also would no longer need it once that Home Guard gets its act together and no longer requires our assistance," said Burke. "Let's not waste resources building a relay post."

"Suit yourself."

"I have a spare ship in mind you can use," said Burke. "A Starfleet runabout, the U.S.S. Hudson."

"A runabout got brought here?" asked Val.

"Yea. Crew escaped our fate though," said Burke. "The runabout left DS9 and flew into turbulence. Before the Hudson was taken to the delta quadrant, her shields failed and the hull started to fail. The two man crew beamed down to a nearby planet."

"So we have this shuttle positioned in a central location relative to the ship assignments, and it'll help extend the communications ranges of the warships," said the nobleman.

"Right."

The nobleman nodded his assent, and was quite pleased that a possible solution appeared.

"I'm tempted make you a Rear Admiral like I did for Maximus over here a while back," said the nobleman to Val.

"Thank you, sir. But, I'm fine where I am right now."

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Another aspect of the Vetara that Burke found intriguing was Val's crew. He didn't have one. Though, Val seemed to command the loyalty of the two Cardassian holograms onboard. Even more interesting, Val held the loyalty of the two dozen or so marines onboard. Burke never had trouble with the MARCOs, but he knew they tended not to mix well with Starfleet.

After the First Fleet Lord departed, Val continued the ship tour for Burke.

They walked into Cargo Bay 2, which the MARCOs had turned into a firing range.

"Sirs," said Staff Sergeant Driver.

In addition to the usual complement of phaser rifles, Burke was surprised to see a silvery firearm. There were also about a dozen or so black pistols.

"How many MARCOs are onboard?" asked Burke.

"Twenty-seven, including myself," answered Driver.

"May I?" asked Burke, indicating he wanted to hold the firearm.

"Be my guest. Weapon is hot." Burke had never held a projectile firearm before. He had only seen them in history texts, and maybe once in a museum. When the pistol is loaded and ready to fire, it is considered "hot."

"Do all your men carry these?" asked Burke.

"No," said Driver. "The non-coms do." This referred to non-commissioned officers. In the MARCO Corps, non-coms were corporals and sergeants. Commissioned officers were Cornets, Majors, Colonels, and Generals.

"Captain Shin has one as well," commented one of the corporals.

"Do you?" asked Burke.

"A small one. Holds five projectiles. Driver talked me into replicating one for myself."

"Why? What use is this primitive weapon?" Burke asked. "No offense, staff sergeant."

"No offense. These are secondary weapons, for when phasers aren't appropriate."

"For example?"

"You'd be surprised how many planets have electromagnetic quirks which mess with phasers," said Driver. "The back-up sidearm is effective in all environments."

Burke was fascinated. MARCO troops could also be useful to the Krowtonan. Likely, their knowledge and tactics could. At the very least, Burke would keep in mind the concept of projectile weapons if ever encountered with a situation where phasers malfunctioned.

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"Are you sure?" asked the young crewman.

"Yes!" said the frustrated emergency medical hologram. In the 5 months that Voyager had been lost in space, Crewman First Class William Telfer visited sickbay at least once a week. He was a classic hypochondriac.

The Doctor was relieved when he was interrupted by a message from Captain Janeway.

"Doctor, please prepare to receive two injured alien life forms."

A few seconds later, two life forms were beamed onto the center biobed. For safety, the Doctor had activated a forcefield over the bed. The two aliens looked similar to giant insects, or perhaps crustaceans. They did not have exoskeletons, though. They had five limbs, one which may have been a tail. The two front limbs each had four finger-like digits. The two non-humanoid aliens were classified as cytoplasmic lifeforms. They are roughly the size of a housecat, perhaps slightly larger.

Captain Janeway walked in a minute later.

"My medical tricorder is basically useless for these particular aliens," reported the Doctor. "I can't really make sense of the scans of the aliens' internal organs and I couldn't guess what is happening. I am fairly certain that the aliens are injured, but I do not know how to go about treating them."

Ensign Harry Kim entered sickbay.

"I've examined the command controls onboard the alien ship," Kim reported to the captain. "It appears the controls take commands through biochemical secretions emanating from the aliens."

Both Kim and Telfer approach the forcefield to get a better look. Telfer's field of expertise is biology, and he thought he could help.

Suddenly, the crew hears screeching. Both aliens somehow leap off the biobed and fly right through the forcefield. They attach themselves to Kim and Telfer. Ensign Kim struggles strenuously for about 5 seconds before he is subdued. The two aliens have pierced the necks of the two humans with a proboscis. A couple of security officers draw their phasers and Janeway nods for them to fire. But the Doctor screams "no!" and explains that the shots might harm the humans but not damage the alien. After all, the aliens were able to jump right through the forcefield. Janeway contacts Lieutenant Torres and orders her to beam the alien creatures back to their ship. However, Torres says that she can no longer get a transporter lock on the aliens.

"The aliens now seem to be interacting with Kim and Telfer's heart and lungs," said the Doctor. "Any attempt to forcefully remove the aliens might result in irreparable damage to the human organs. In order to proceed, I should spend some time studying Voyager's database on exobiology and run some alternate scenarios."

Janeway suggests that the Doctor not only consult the exobiology database, but perhaps create an addition hologram to assist in the medical treatment.

"Ironically, Ensign Kim would have been the best officer for that task," said the Doctor.

"Well, we'll have to improvise," said Janeway with an upbeat attitude. "Have Lieutenants Paris and Torres report to you and see what you guys can come up with."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Let's say hello," said Val.

The Vetara had been trailing behind Voyager for over 2 months now. Voyager had made a few stops along the way recently, and the Vetara finally had a chance to catch up.

Val dropped his ship out of warp and cruised at half impulse toward Voyager.

Vice Captain Chakotay was on the bridge and received the hail.

"Counselor," said Chakotay. "Welcome back to the fold. Hope your journey has been uneventful."

Voyager had encountered minor threats in the past months, but nothing she couldn't deal with.

"Almost to the point of boredom," Val responded. With a Krowtonan escort the majority of the time, the Vetara made it through without being touched. Only about one and a half weeks ago did the Vetara leave what was Burke's official operational area. However, Val did enjoy Burke's company from time to time. And he enjoyed meeting some of the other minor races which allied themselves with the Krowtonan.

"How is everything on Voyager?" asked Val.

Chakotay explained the recent incident to Val. Kim was incapacitated. Paris and Torres were busy at sickbay helping the Doctor. Captain Janeway had the shift off and was resting in her quarters.

Val said he wished to visit Kim in sickbay and offer his emotional support. He knew Paris was very close friends with Kim and he wanted to help in any way possible.

"Permission to beam aboard Voyager," requested Val.

"Granted," said Chakotay. "You'll arrive in transporter room 2."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No!" insisted Torres.

"You're kidding me," replied Paris in disbelief.

"This is the appropriate course of action," insisted the Doctor.

"Pick someone else," said Torres.

"He's the most highly qualified expert exobiologist," said the Doctor.

"Then pick the second most. Surely there's more than just one person who has the required qualifications," replied Torres. The individual the Doctor had chosen was a Cardassian surgeon and exobiologist. Being a member of the maquis, Torres had an intense hatred of all Cardassians.

Val walked onto the holodeck. He could tell the others were in the midst of a heated debate, but he didn't know the topic.

"I won't do it," said Torres. "Pick another person."

Val walked over to Paris.

"Hey Tom, I heard the news. Sorry about the predicament. Any progress on running scenarios?"

Paris shook his head.

"Lieutenant. Doctor," said Val, acknowledging the other two officers. Torres nodded her head.

The Doctor wanted to insist. He brought up three personnel files side by side, hoping to convince Torres of the superior qualifications of the Cardassian over the next two closely qualified medical experts.

Val watched the Doctor toggle through the images of the medics on the padd.

"Hey, he looks familiar," said Val casually. Then again, many Cardassians looked alike to him. He gave the image a second look.

"Looks like Zet," he said as an offhand comment.

"Who?" asked Paris.

"Zet. He's one of the holo-programs on my ship. He's some type of scientist. Programmed to catalogue new species in the Gamma Quadrant. He's a good guy."

"Do you mean Crell Moset?" asked the Doctor. "The most renowned and knowledgeable exobiologist in all the alpha quadrant?" The Doctor said that last part with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Uh… I guess," said Val, not entirely sure what the Doctor was all riled up about.

"Do you think you can have his program report to sickbay and assist me?" asked the Doctor.

"Sure. I don't see why not," said Val.

The Doctor actually smiled and seemed satisfied.

"Thank you, Counselor Shin."

Torres was fuming.

"What's wrong with picking this person?" she pointed to an image of a Romulan.

"Come on, Torres," said Paris. "This is Harry's life we're talking about. We should have the best possible person on this."

Torres stormed toward the holodeck's exit.

"Fine, you guys deal with it. I'll be in engineering. Don't contact me!"

"As if we need her anymore," the Doctor retorted, with a hint of annoyance.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Thank you for coming," said the Doctor.

"Sure," said Zet. "Captain Shin told me he wouldn't order me to help, but why would I not?"

The two doctors started off in a very friendly and cordial exchange, and the Doctor quickly warmed to the Cardassian as they begin discussing Ensign Kim's predicament. They began brainstorming possible courses of action.

In sickbay, Paris is watching over Kim. Kim rouses into consciousness and thinks he is about to die. Paris tells him to relax, and says that he'll be up and about in no time.

In the bed next to Kim is Crewman Telfer. His friend, Crewman Tal Celes is there with him. Although Telfer remains unconscious, Celes holds onto his hand and squeezes. Telfer had been instrumental in helping Celes cope with her duties onboard Voyager. During boot camp, she often had to work twice as hard as all the other recruits. She wasn't unintelligent, but she simply wasn't up to the task as a sensor analyst. Telfer had a knack for helping her with her equations, and explaining things to her in a somewhat more simplified way. Even more importantly, Telfer was her close friend. He seemed to be the only person on the entire crew who didn't view her as intellectually inferior. Or, more precisely, he seemed to be the only person who didn't care.

"We're all a member of the team," he would say. "It doesn't matter if you're not as strong or as smart as everyone else. Nobody survives alone, and no matter what, you are an integral part of the team."

It was a little bit ironic, as the two of them seemed to be the extent of their team. The other members of the crew, while friendly, tended to treat them as misfits.

Although the two of them were close friends, they were not romantically involved. In fact, Telfer often couldn't stop talking about a girl he had been infatuated with back on Earth. Christina something. He was always too shy and never made an attempt to express his feelings to her. But now, after being stranded in the delta quadrant, he made a promise to himself that as soon as he returned home, he would say something. He sometimes asked Tal how he should approach the situation. To some extent, Tal was happy she was able to help him with something. There wasn't going to be anything in the science arena that she could help him with. Tal hoped that Telfer would survive to return home.

As Zet examines the creature which attached itself to Ensign Kim, he mentions that he would probably be better able to create possible scenarios back at his laboratory on the Vetara. The Doctor agrees. The two of them transfer their programs to the Vetara and create a holo-simulation of the alien on one of Zet's examination tables. As they work, they are both surprised when they hum a song together.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val Shin and Tom Paris shared a meal in the mess hall. It was a welcome distraction to take Tom's mind off of his friend's predicament.

After the meal, Paris reported to the bridge for his shift.

Before Val returned to his ship, he thought he'd drop by DuPont's quarters just to say hello. She was surprised. She hadn't known that the Vetara met up with Voyager. She was due for her shift at hydroponics, but she decided to fake being sick and called her supervisor on an internal channel. Val thought it was funny that DuPont changed her voice to pretend she was under the weather. Her supervisor said it would be okay and wished her a speedy recovery. After the channel was closed, DuPont smiled a childish smile.

Although many of the Starfleet personnel still had strong reservations about their maquis crewmates, the two groups tried to get along. Eventually, things would be okay. DuPont was popular with maquis crewmembers, but even they didn't completely accept her as one of their own. After all, she wasn't really much of a warrior. She had simply been on Chakotay's ship as a passenger for her travels within the DMZ. Chakotay had been doing a favor for one of his friends in another maquis cell.

DuPont looked forward to spending a day of hookie with an old acquaintance. The two of them talked for close to an hour.

"I should really be getting back to my ship," said Val.

DuPont was a little sad. She had taken her whole day off! Val sensed her emotion.

"Would you like a tour?"

DuPont's face lit up. In general, she wasn't really allowed to leave Voyager. She had no skills necessary on away teams; at least thus far. If a Voyager away team needed legal assistance of some sort, she'd be the perfect candidate. It was ironic that the last thing Val said to her before they last separated was advising her not to take part in away teams.

Of course, word might eventually pass from the transporter chief to DuPont's supervisor that she beamed off the ship while "sick." She would worry about that some other time.

The two of them walked around his ship for a few hours. The MARCOs basically all knew her. Some disliked her immensely, others were closer to indifferent. But they knew she was the captain's personal guest, and they restrained their animosity towards her. After beaming over, she had taken off her maquis rank insignia from her collar in an attempt to lessen the friction, but they knew who she was.

Val was hesitant to take her to engineering. He wasn't sure how DuPont would react to Kejal. But it was a major part of the ship. And Kejal was an important member of his crew.

As the two of them entered engineering, Val was surprised how friendly DuPont was toward the Cardassian.

"Hi!" she said in a friendly tone. "Karen DuPont," she said as she introduced herself.

Kejal spoke shyly. "Kejal. I am this ship's caretaker. I am a repair technician."

"Nice to meet you, repair technician Kejal," DuPont said with a smile. She was glad that at least one member of Val's crew did not dislike her.

Kejal smiled back. Something about DuPont intrigued her.

Val wasn't sure if he was more relieved by the fact that Kejal and DuPont got along or that Kejal didn't introduce herself as the captain's consort.

The three of them hung out in engineering for a few minutes while a couple of MARCO troopers stood guard.

Their next stop was Zet's lab. Usually, Zet was inactive, but Val knew he and the Doctor were working there right now and wanted to see if they were making progress.

As the two of them walked into the lab, they watched the two doctors conferring excitedly.

"My captain," said Zet when he noticed the new arrivals. Zet seemed to always address Val as "my captain" instead of just "captain." It was an interesting quirk.

"How's it going?" asked Val.

"We are making fantastic progress," said Zet.

DuPont saw that the two doctors had performed surgery and opened up the alien to expose its internal organs. She turned away. It was not a pleasant sight to behold.

"I think we're near a solution," added the Doctor.

"Wonderful," said Val with a smile. He was hopeful that Harry Kim and William Telfer would make full recoveries.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The young ensign shrieked in horror. He had twisted his wrist and reported to sickbay for treatment. Once there, he caught a glimpse of Zet and screamed that he was a mass murderer who killed scores of Bajorans. The young ensign lunges at Zet and has to be held back by Paris and a security officer.

The Doctor is taken aback.

The young ensign, a maquis officer named Tabor, screams that Crell Moset killed his grandfather, and many other Bajorans at his hospital on Bajor. Paris suggests that Zet return to the Vetara until the situation simmers down, and Zet agrees.

Chakotay soon arrives at sickbay and asks for an explanation. The maquis ensign explains that the Doctor's colleague is Crell Moset, and goes on to list several alleged atrocities the Cardassian performed in the name of medical science while stationed on Bajor. The Doctor counters that Crell Moset actually found a cure for a virus which would have kill hundreds of thousands of Bajorans. The maquis ensign explains that Moset only found the cure after having experimented on hundreds of Bajorans by deliberately infecting them with the virus and then using trial and error to figure out a solution.

After leaving sickbay, Chakotay and Tuvok look through the ship's database for information regarding Crell Moset. Chakotay recalls hearing of a Cardassian doctor who performed cruel experiments on Bajor, but was not entirely sure whether they were simply rumors. They find some evidence that Moset may have intentionally infected some of the patients at his hospital in order to find a cure. Chakotay reports this to Captain Janeway.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val and DuPont are sharing a meal in his spacious gul's quarters. DuPont was impressed. Her quarters were significantly smaller. In addition, she had to share hers with another maquis crewmember!

On the kitchen counter, DuPont saw that Val had a red box with a cartoon leprechaun on it.

"Magically delicious, eh?" she teased him. It was the catchphrase of the ancient cereal called Lucky Charms. Of course, Val didn't feel embarrassed. He loved that stuff. And, if DuPont didn't also, she would have never known the motto. To Val's credit, he limited his intake of that particular cereal to one time a week. He hadn't replicated a new box in over a month.

Val heard his combadge chirp and gave it a tap.

"Counselor Shin, please report to Voyager's briefing room."

"Uh Oh," said DuPont.

"This better not be about me kidnapping a sick Voyager crewmember," he joked.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val arrived in the briefing room 10 minutes later.

"Getting our crewmembers to cut out of their shifts nowadays?" joked Paris.

"She was sick. She has a doctor's note," retorted Val, also jokingly.

"I didn't write her a note," said the Doctor, visibly annoyed.

"Mine did," said Val matter-of-factly.

The Doctor was often annoyed, but this time, much more so. He couldn't believe that the two most childish Starfleet officers he had ever met in his existence were now joking around during a conference meeting regarding such a serious topic.

"Stop it, both of you," said Janeway, also visibly annoyed.

"Counselor Shin," said Chakotay. "Your doctor is exactly the reason we have called this meeting."

Also in the room were Lieutenant Tuvok, and Ensign Tabor.

"Right, I think the two doctors were on the verge of finding a solution. Is everything okay?"

"Not quite, there has been a… complication," said Tuvok.

Tuvok announced his findings from the database search he and Chakotay performed. Val looked a little perplexed. He didn't fully understand what they were discussing and zoned out. It was a never-ending lecture involving a bunch of medical mumbo jumbo about the science of infections and vaccines and enzymes and cures. He was, of course, distracted by something Kejal whispered to him in privacy before he beamed onboard Voyager. She mentioned to him that Karen DuPont bore a striking resemblance to a certain Orion female. Val had countered that the two women were different heights, had different hair color, eye color, and oh, different color over their entire bodies. However, Kejal insisted that their facial features held some similarities. Val never saw that, but he was beginning to question himself.

"Wait. Wrap this up for me. Did you guys find a solution?" asked Val, directed at the Doctor.

"I think so… but…"

"Okay, let's go do it," Val said casually. He got off his seat as if to walk out, probably heading toward sickbay.

"Your doctor kills people," said Tabor.

"Yea, right," said Val dismissively.

The infuriated ensign lunged wildly at Val. Val deftly stepped aside. To add an exclamation point to show that he was not to be trifled with, Val used the young ensign's momentum against him, and slammed his face onto the conference table. Tabor's nose was broken and was he was lying on the floor, bleeding profusely. Val may have been distracted during Tuvok's lecture, but his survival instincts had kicked into gear.

Val knelt down. "Are we done?" he asked.

Tabor tried to get up swiftly in defiance, but Val gently pushed him back onto the ground.

"Are. We. Done?" he asked patiently.

Tabor gritted his teeth, but nodded his assent.

Val turned his back to Tabor and pretended to look away. In fact, he was waiting for Tabor to do something foolish and give him a reason to break a few more bones.

Tabor did not disappoint. He sprung back up, but Chakotay saw the situation unfolding in front of him and gently pushed Tabor off balance. Chakotay gave him a stern look, as if silently saying "back down." Val was surprised by that turn of events.

Tabor was dismissed.

"Counselor, please be seated," insisted Captain Janeway. "What are your thoughts about what Tuvok just uncovered?"

"Frankly, I have no thoughts."

"How could you not have any thoughts!" yelled the Doctor angrily.

"Because I have no idea what he was talking about," admitted Val. "Look, I have like a hundred things on my mind right now. Can you just fast-forward through the science and tell me if you guys found a solution? Because I really don't need to know the details here. Fix the problem." Val was a combination of tired and angry.

"The details are why we are here, counselor," said Janeway, exasperated.

"Okay, fine," said Val as he resigned to being bored to tears. "Please continue."

Tuvok could also see that Val was distracted. He didn't know from what, but he surmised that there was some tension from Val's MARCO troops when he brought a maquis crewmember to visit.

"Long story short, counselor," said Tuvok. "Crell Moset stands accused of multiple atrocities."

"Who?" asked Val absent-mindedly.

"Your doctor!" said the EMH.

"Zet? Wait, I don't get this, what did he do again?"

Tuvok explained that Crell Moset seems to have experimented on many of his patients on Bajor.

"Wait, wait. Rewind this for me. What's this all about? Some Cardassian named Crell Moset?"

"Yes."

"And this all matters because?"

"Because there are medical ethics involved," said the Doctor. "I want to save Kim and Telfer, but doing so would validate Crell Moset and his methods. How can I allow someone who gained his knowledge though cruel experiments to help me? Crell Moset is a monster."

"You realize the person you are referring to is not actually my doctor, right?" asked Val in puzzlement. "I mean, the real Crell Moset is probably in the alpha quadrant somewhere, sipping on a bottle of canar, or whatever it is that Cardassians drink."

The Doctor slid a padd in front of Val with an image of Crell Moset. "Is that your doctor?"

"Are you Lewis Zimmerman?" asked Val. "Because you look like him."

Janeway was not amused.

"Look. My doctor bears the appearance of Crell Moset. But they're not the same. You aren't Zimmerman, my man isn't Moset. Does that sound rational to you?"

In his annoyance at the whole discovery of Crell Moset's past, the Doctor had not thought about the fact that Zet was a hologram.

"Your doctor gained his extensive medical knowledge through cruel experimentation!"

"Doubtful," said Val.

"It's in the database."

"When did this whole Bajor thing happen?" asked Val.

Tuvok gave a short explanation of the timeline.

"Then Zet wasn't involved."

"We know your hologram wasn't directly involved. But his program is based on the person who was. And his knowledge derives from that person."

"No, you don't get it. Zet is the functional equivalent of a fresh-faced med school grad. He was modeled after Crell Moset as he was in his mid-20s, or however old Cardassians are when they finish their schooling. The Moset on Bajor was probably a much more accomplished individual and older. Zet would have none of those experiences."

"Why?" asked the Doctor. He himself was programmed with the experiences of several Starfleet doctors.

"Because Moset worked on highly classified medical projects. His experiences after graduating medical school could not be replicated without also replicating heavily classified information. The Obsidian Order was not interested in creating a possible copy of such information that could fall into enemy hands, in the Gamma quadrant, no less."

Val was glad that his answer seemed satisfactory. Voyager's bridge staff was riled up over nothing.

"We have a potential secondary problem," said Janeway. Word of Moset had spread across the ship. The maquis among the crew were bound to revolt if they knew Moset was involved in a medical procedure.

"But we just went through this whole thing, Zet is not the same person and has derived no knowledge from cruel experiments," said Paris.

"It won't matter to the maquis. The perception will be that Moset helped. Perhaps not from knowledge stemming from his research on Bajor. But Zet arguably contains the personality of Moset. That will not go over smoothly with many maquis members," said Chakotay. He wished it weren't so. He didn't want to watch two crewmembers die over this.

Paris was angry. "So we're just going to let Harry die! Let's just shun the evil hologram and forget that he can save two people's lives."

"You're not the only one who cares about people's lives," said Janeway. She cared about each and every member of her crew, but also had a special interest in Ensign Kim. She was especially protective of him because he was the youngest of her bridge officers.

"Is there another way?" asked Chakotay. "You already know what Zet was planning. You don't really need him."

"It would be preferable to have him," said the Doctor reluctantly. "We have two different personalities. I play it relatively safe. He pushes the envelope. As we were running scenarios at his lab on the Vetara, he instinctively performed actions which I would not have."

"That is exactly why he should not be allowed," said Chakotay. "Even if he is a young version of Moset, he carries his personality. A personality which would perform unethical and cruel experiments on people. He should be tried as a criminal."

"You're joking," said Val.

"Are we seriously still arguing over this?" screamed a distraught Paris.

"Now you're getting it in stereo!" said Val, referring to the fact that Janeway was now getting it from Val on her left and Paris from her right.

"There's legal basis for it," said Tuvok.

"You want to charge a hologram? With a crime? A crime he didn't even do?" said Val disbelievingly.

"I'll write up the charges," said Chakotay defiantly.

"You're ridiculous, Chakotay," said Val, repeating the insult he often heard from his MARCOs about the maquis commander. "Forgive the lawyer geek side of me coming out, but even if it were the real flesh and blood Crell Moset sitting on my ship, you wouldn't lay hand on him. Off the bat, you lack both in personam jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction. He's a Cardassian on a Cardassian ship. The events you elude to happened outside of Federation territory. What exactly is your jurisdiction here? That you can just do whatever you want?"

A Starfleet ensign entered the briefing room from the bridge.

"I apologize for the intrusion," she said. "Captain Shin, you have an urgent message from your security chief."

Val turned around and said "Thank you, ensign." He was much calmer now.

"Please pardon me," said Val to Janeway. She gestured that it was okay.

Val placed in his earpiece.

"Go ahead, Driver."

"Sir, we just received a message over emergency channel 16. FOF ident squawked as KHG. Message is as follows: monitoring your situation. Detected a squadron of 4 possible hostile contacts heading to your location at high rate of speed. Weapons charged. Configuration matches the ship which recently imploded off Voyager's port bow. No High Guard units near your location. Proceed with caution. Message ends."

"Thank you, staff sergeant." Val pulled his earpiece out.

"We've got company," he told Janeway.

"Tuvok?"

"Nothing on long-range sensors," he said, after double checking.

"Fine," said Val. "With your permission, I'd like to return to my ship. I'll check to see if we're chasing sensor shadows. But I have to prepare my ship for combat. In the event you make the decision to go ahead with the medical procedure and you would like Zet's help, please let me know."

Janeway granted permission, and Val walked out of the room.

"Can you do this without the Cardassian doctor?" Janeway asked her EMH.

"Maybe," he said.

Janeway announces her final decision: Voyager cannot afford to lose her operations officer while lost and alone in the Delta quadrant. If the Doctor cannot save Ensign Kim without Zet's help, then he will get Zet's help. She takes full responsibility for any consequences of her decision.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val returned to his ship and started researching Vetara's scans of the alien ship taken before it imploded. He calculated that the likelihood was Voyager could fend off four of those ships if necessary.

That was one less thing to think about.

Val walks down to Zet's lab.

"My captain," he said as Val entered. "Have your friends been treated?"

"Not yet,' said Val. "Listen. Voyager's doctor might ask you to assist in surgery."

"I would be delighted to help," he said in a cheerful mood.

"I'm not allowing it," said Val.

"Sir?"

"Janeway is going to have a revolt on her hands if she allows you to assist in the surgery. Her maquis crewmembers and perhaps even the handful of Bajoran fleet crew will take this the wrong way. You will probably also be in great peril."

"I see… But, your friend Harry might perish."

Val knew the consequences.

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"Counselor, please have your doctor report to my sickbay," said Janeway over the intership comm system.

"I apologize, captain. But I'm afraid I can't allow that. Your doctor will have to perform this operation alone."

"Come again?" said Janeway impatiently.

"This is for the best. You'll avoid a revolt on your ship."

"I can take care of myself. I need my operations officer up and about."

"No," said Val.

"Don't be fooled by those extra pips your friend DuPont gave you," said a frustrated Janeway. "We are not equals. I am giving you a direct order. Have your doctor report to my sickbay. Now."

"I can't order him to do anything," Val lied. "I'm a Starfleet officer, he's a Cardassian. There's no chain of command here." He had never disclosed the whole nonsense about the Cardassians thinking he was with the Bureau and how he actually was the commander of the ship and had authority over both Kejal and Zet.

"I have watched you two interact," said Janeway. "He defers to you. He would most certainly acquiesce to your request."

"That may be so, but I can't ask him to commit suicide. Once he's onboard, your people will try to destroy his program. Even disregarding the tiny inconvenience that I would be left without a medic, how is that fair to Zet?"

"I'll have him protected," said Janeway. This had the potential to lead to a strong internal rift onboard Voyager. Val saw that as well.

Val relented. "That's not necessary." Val didn't want to have Voyager crewmembers fight amongst each other. "I'll have him protected."

Val said that he would convince Zet to perform the surgery on Voyager with tight restrictions. Janeway would have to power down her transporters from the bridge and lock them out with her personal command code. Val would station a dozen MARCOs outside of sickbay and in the surrounding corridors. None of Janeway's security would have to get involved in Zet's protection detail. Janeway agreed and gave her word that nobody would hassle the two doctors.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"If anyone approaches, take them down," said Staff Sergeant Driver.

"Deadly force has been authorized?" asked Rodriguez.

"Let's not get carried away," said Driver. "Just take them down."

"Fire team Bravo, clear," said Corporal Santiago.

"Fire team Charlie, secure," said Corporal Rodriguez, from inside sickbay.

"Staff sergeant, I have two subjects approaching," said Corporal Logan.

Fire team Adam brought their rifles at the ready. "Halt!" yelled Private McCarter.

Two Starfleet crewmembers stopped in their tracks, and kept their hands in front of them, palms up to show they were not a threat.

"Corporal," said Ensign Samantha Wildman, addressing Logan. "I am hoping you will make one exception."

Coincidentally, Logan and Wildman both had the same first name. Wildman was the head of Voyager's biology division. She was Crewman William Telfer's immediate supervisor. She had brought with her Crewman Celes. Wildman pulled Logan aside and explained to her that Celes was Telfer's best friend. To her knowledge, the two were extremely close, and had no friendships among the rest of the crew. Celes would be devastated if Telfer were to pass. She knew there was high risk of that. In the upcoming operation, if the doctors made a wrong call, the alien life form might decide to kill its host before dying itself. Celes would want to be there.

"This is highly unusual. She should wait with Mr. Paris," responded Logan. Paris was sitting in an adjacent room, with an Ensign Delaney comforting him as he waited for word.

"Please," said Celes.

If this were some ploy, it was a strong one, thought Logan. Celes was clearly distraught.

"I'm sorry," said Logan. "Captain's orders."

"I can get Janeway to change her mind," insisted Wildman.

"Not your captain. My captain," said Logan.

"Please, you must let me convince your captain," said Wildman.

Logan didn't like this situation. She felt sympathy, but this could prove dangerous. She held up a small device and told Celes to stand still. Logan snapped an image of Celes and reported to her captain.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How do you feel?" asked Val.

"I think we'll succeed," said a confident Zet.

"Okay, Janeway has locked out her transporters, the MARCOs have secured the perimeter. You should be good to go."

"Thank you, captain."

"Good luck."

Before Val could transfer Zet's program, a chirp came through his earpiece.

"Go ahead."

"Sir, it's Corporal Logan. I have a request for permission to join one of the patients inside."

"Denied," said Val.

"I think you should consider the request," said Logan. She was a tough marine, but she felt for Celes. "I am uploading you an image of the requestee."

Val grabbed his personal display device from his right side cargo pocket.

The image gave him concern. He could see she was crying, but he could also see a fact which Logan was about to relay to him.

"She's Bajora," Logan said.

This was a complication. Val didn't like to judge people by that type of thing, but there was no dismissing that the two ethnicities had deep-rooted hatreds. It would throw a volatile element into the mix. Logan explained the situation regarding Telfer.

"Let me speak with her," said Val.

Logan pulled out her earpiece and handed it to a sobbing Celes.

"Crewman, do you realize who will be performing the operations?" asked Val.

"It doesn't matter to me that the surgeon is a Cardassian hologram," said a tearful Celes. "I just care about Billy making it through this. I want to be there when he awakes. Or, if he passes. I don't want him to be alone."

The crewman sounded sincere enough to Val. He hated these types of decisions. Why is it that things always had to go as least smoothly as possible?

Val asked Celes to hand the earpiece back to Logan.

"Logan, do you have any restraints on you?"

"Yes, sir. Plasti-cuffs."

"Restrain the crewman," he said reluctantly. "Then escort her into sickbay. Keep her under your watch."

"Aye, sir." She tapped her earpiece to close the channel.

"I can let you in," said Logan.

Celes' face beamed. She was still crying.

"But… I have to keep you restrained. I'm sorry, it's the best I could do." Logan brought out a pair of plastic ties from one of her pockets.

Celes was willing. She turned around and voluntarily placed her hands behind her back. She nodded to Ensign Wildman to let her know it was okay and that Wildman could go. After Wildman left, Logan grabbed Celes' right wrist and put on a restraint. Logan pulled the hand in front of Celes and tied her other hand. Logan thought it would be more proper if Celes had her hands in front of her. It would be exponentially more dangerous, though.

"I hope I won't regret this," said Logan. Celes shook her head no. The two of them headed into sickbay, where Rodriguez and three others were standing guard. Celes took a seat next to her friend's biobed.

Val beamed over a replacement for Logan.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The surgery was a success. Both aliens were extracted from Kim and Telfer. An hour or so later, the 4 alien ships had arrived and Janeway was able to beam the two aliens to one of their ships. The aliens were still injured, but the Doctor had found a way to stabilize the aliens' condition.

Val walked into Zet's lab.

"Congratulations are in order," said Val. "Thanks for your good work."

"Thank you, my captain," said Zet. He wasn't smiling as his captain was. Val could see something was disturbing him.

"You okay?" Val asked.

"I've been thinking… Perhaps the concerns that some Voyager officers had over my personality were valid."

"Nonsense," said Val. "You saved two of their officers. I'm sure they were grateful."

Indeed, both Kim and Telfer were grateful. Paris was quite relieved. Even Celes exhibited gratefulness that her best friend Telfer was saved. Zet did not expect the last one.

"While we were performing surgery, I almost killed one of the aliens," admitted Zet.

"But you didn't. Things turned out fine."

"Only because Voyager's doctor intervened and showed me a secondary spinal nerve bundle as a location where I could apply a neurostatic shock. Otherwise, I would have continued my previous course and perhaps affected permanent brain damage to the aliens."

"Well, you thought you had to. You thought it was either kill the alien, or allow the alien to kill Ensign Kim. You can't second guess things like this," insisted Val.

Zet thought about it for a moment. He was saddened that he couldn't see a better solution. One which created a more optimal outcome. He wondered if his personality was defective in some way.

"My captain," said Zet. "Although I am not Crell Moset, I do contain many of his memories in addition to his personality. I've never respected the field of psychology, and avoided it basically throughout most of my studies. However, during my second-to-last year, I had to take a psych class as a graduation requirement from medical school."

"That sounds about right," said Val.

"I had always known I was slightly different from others. I felt less empathy, had less understanding of emotions. I had always thought that I was just tougher than most people. That my peers were soft. However, after the psychology class, I was able to diagnose myself with a condition. I am a high functioning mild autistic. I believe humans call it Asperger's syndrome. I can hide it relatively well, but it is who I am."

Val had studied Asperger's syndrome briefly in law school. There were debates about whether such a syndrome could render a patient unfit to stand trial. The lack of demonstrated empathy was perhaps the most dysfunctional aspect of the syndrome. Though, Val didn't think this was true of Zet. He had displayed some level of empathy on several occasions. Val tried to think back, and remembered that unlike a typical autistic, an Asperger's patient did not usually withdraw from others. While they often failed to develop friendships, the patients would awkwardly approach others. Linguistic and cognitive abilities of the patients appeared untouched, and many were often quite bright.

"My captain, I believe I may be a burden for you."

"Nonsense," said Val. "You're an asset. You've helped several of my MARCOs when they were injured. You saved two officers' lives today for cryin' out loud. Don't be so down on yourself."

"I could have killed them," said Zet. "There's no telling what could have happened if I went ahead and killed the aliens. They could have killed their hosts in retaliation."

"Look, what happened has happened. We move on. You'll learn from this."

"No, my captain. I do not believe I will. Voyager's Doctor was right, I have unethical personality. Asperger's syndrome makes me a potential liability. I have potential to do great harm. You should not activate me to treat any of your men anymore. Please only use me to catalogue new species, as was my original function."

"Zet. The fact that you would even question yourself proves that you aren't unethical. Crazy people don't wonder whether they're crazy, they think they're perfectly normal. Some of Earth's greatest people were mildly autistic. Artists, detectives. You have skills that can benefit my crew."

"I have potential to do great harm," repeated Zet.

Val thought about it for a minute. Aside from hoping Zet would stay on as the ship's doctor, he truly believed this hologram was being too harsh on himself. While Val knew of Crell Moset's reputation, this hologram did not actually do any of those things.

"You know," said Val. "A lot of people say the same thing about lawyers. The more brilliant they are, the more potential they have to destroy things. Here's the silver lining: your fate isn't written. You choose how to harness your gifts. A professor once compared lawyers to fires. Fires give you light in the darkness, give you warmth in the cold. But they can burn your entire house down if uncontrolled. So, learn to control yourself. You know your weakness, try to adapt."

Zet thought about it for a second, but responded "I don't think I can adapt."

"Well, you haven't tried," said Val. He started walking out of Zet's lab.

"You won't deactivate me?" he asked.

"I think you should have some time to think this through. Work it out. I'll come back in a few days."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val had been requested to join Sergeant Driver in one of the Vetara's cargo holds.

As Val walked in, he saw a bunch of marines stand over the prone bodies of three people dressed in Starfleet uniforms. They had been beaten into a bloody pulp. Even the small-sized Coporal Logan, who was barely over 5 feet fall, had pummeled one of the intruders into a bloody mess.

"We found this with them," said Corporal Logan. She showed Val two large duffle bags, full of explosives.

"They would have vaporized a fifth of the ship if they had gone off. The hull would've been breached," added Pfc McCarter.

It had been three days since Kim and Telfer were successfully treated and sent to their quarters to recuperate. Voyager was about to speed off at high warp and let Vetara follow. It appears three members of the maquis wanted to strike before the two ships separated.

A little before 0600, Corporal Logan and her fire team performed their regular checks of the ship's cargo holds. It wasn't really essential, it was just a routine to keep the MARCOs busy doing something. Logan was lucky. As the team was in the cargo hold, they watched as the three maquis beamed into the center of the room. Logan and her men took quick action and subdued the intruders immediately. She advised Sergeant Driver, who brought the ship's shields up and activated his entire platoon to sweep the entire ship for any additional intruders. Internal sensors showed nothing, but he wanted to be sure.

Corporal Rodriguez' team arrived at the cargo hold as back up. Then McCarter discovered the explosives in the bags. When the MARCOs realized what the maquis just attempted, they beat the traitors to within an inch of their lives.

Val couldn't believe the situation. He was furious. He spotted someone he recognized as one of the three.

"You've got to be kidding me," he said. He picked up the young maquis ensign and slammed him against a wall.

"Are you kidding me!" Val screamed, and threw him at another wall.

Val approached him, and punched him right in the gut. The ensign keeled over. Blood dripped from his mouth. He was gasping for air.

"Leave him alone," gasped one of the others on the ground. "It was all my idea. I acted alone. The other two were trying to stop me."

Obviously, that was a lie, since all three of them beamed in together.

Val knelt down to the one who spoke.

"And why would you do such a thing?" asked Val.

"Because…. Because Crell Moset killed my grandfather. I watched it happen," said the maquis lying on the ground.

"Well, that's an interesting story," said Val. "Tell me, what month did your grandfather die?"

Silence.

"How was the weather? Was it raining? Sunny?"

Silence.

"What did it smell like?"

Silence.

"You see," said Val. "These little minor details are something that would be etched into your memory during something like, say, witnessing the murder of a loved one."

"This will never be done," said Sergeant Raines. "We have to execute them."

"Matt!" said Staff Sergeant Driver.

"Sir, Sergeant Raines is right," insisted Corporal Rodriguez. "The maquis said so themselves. They'll never stop until they destroy our ship."

Corporals Logan, Rodriguez, and Morris all drew their pistols, and aimed right at the foreheads of the maquis.

Val didn't want this, but he did want to end it once and for all.

"Permission to fire," asked Rodriguez.

Val was silent.

"Permission to fire," repeated Rodriguez.

Driver walked up to Val and whispered in his ear.

"If you're going to do this sir, you better be sure. You can't unkill someone."

"Would you do it?" asked Val. Driver was the more experienced combat veteran. He was in charge of security. His views were important to Val.

"Hell yea I would," said Driver with a low voice but resolutely. "But I'm not the captain of this ship. You are."

These three were enemy saboteurs. Punishable by death on the high seas, if a vessel captain was convinced of guilt. That concept extended into deep space if remote enough from a proper prosecuting authority. Val thought the delta quadrant counted.

"Sidearm," said Val.

Driver handed Val his nickel-plated sidearm. It contained 9 bullets. Val chambered a round. He aimed the pistol at the maquis ensign's head, and squeezed the trigger.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Captain Kathryn Janeway was reviewing a few personnel files with her vice captain.

"It appears William Telfer is not longer a hypochondriac," said Janeway.

"Good," said Chakotay. "Maybe I can finally put him on an away mission." As vice captain, Chakotay had been responsible for created the crew rosters for away missions. Telfer had always ducked out from his responsibilities.

"Regarding Celes, I think we need to rotate her out of her analyst position. She doesn't seem fit for it."

"I agree. We'll see if we can find something else for her. But I'm afraid we're stretched pretty thin and we probably need her where she is."

"Think she can keep up?" asked Janeway.

"We'll have to make do with what resources we have," said Chakotay.

Janeway was interrupted by an incoming communication.

"Doctor to the captain."

"Go ahead."

"Three injured maquis crewmembers were just beamed into sickbay."

"From where?" asked Chakotay.

"I'd venture a guess and say the Vetara."

"But computer records show nobody left the ship," said Chakotay.

"These maquis crewmembers don't have their combadges. They probably took them off to fool the internal sensors."

"What were they doing on the Vetara?" asked Janeway.

"Judging by their injuries, they were being used as punching bags."

"Janeway to the bridge. Tuvok, get me Counselor Shin on the line."

"Captain," said Tuvok. "The Vetara just jumped into warp 20 seconds ago."

"Track them and engage a pursuit course."

"Aye, captain," said Paris.

"You have a private message from Captain Shin," said Tuvok.

Janeway viewed the message in her office.

"Your men just tried to bomb my ship," said the image of Val.

Janeway was shocked.

"Normally, this would call for capital punishment. They had the intention to kill many. They were unremorseful after being caught. And they said they would attempt again if given another chance. I leave their punishment in your hands. As for our crews getting along, that ship has sailed. This will never be over for the maquis. I think the best thing to do here is go our separate ways. Goodbye, Captain Janeway."

Val's image flickered off.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Val sat in his office, pondering what his next move should be. His door chime rang.

"Enter."

Staff Sergeant Nathan Driver stepped inside the office.

"Please, have a seat."

"Thank you, sir."

"What's on your mind?"

"I'm thinking that joining the Krowtonan might not be the best idea."

"Do you think that's what I intend to do?" asked Val.

"I can see you're considering it," said Driver.

"Tell me. What is your opinion of Max Burke?"

"He appears to be a fine officer. A strong commander."

"But?"

"He's damaged, sir."

"How do you mean?"

"I can see it in his eyes. Like I see it in many soldiers' eyes. He has killed one too many people. He has been hardened by death."

"How about you?"

"I'm the same way."

"You and Burke are the same?"

"In a word: yes."

"You think Burke could lead you better than me?"

"In battle, I would take Burke over you any day of the week and twice on Sundays."

Driver's honesty surprised Val.

"But here's the thing, sir: battle is my job, not yours," added Driver.

"How so?"

"Your job is to get us home, sir. I would've executed those maquis crewmen. Every MARCO would have. Burke definitely would have. Hell, probably even Kejal and Zet would have. You chose another way. You chose not to make war with Janeway and her ship."

"Well…"

"No, you chose the better outcome. Further antagonizing Janeway would have meant more trouble. We MARCOs would have brushed off that risk. You beamed her men back intact. That means something to her."

"I just burned the bridge with her. You don't think we need an ally like the Krowtonan?"

"I'm not saying to make enemies of the Krowtonan," said Driver. "We can be collegial. But you will not fit in with their methods. Their style is more nuanced, and quite frankly, more brutal than you can stomach. I can do it. Burke can do it. You can not."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I've contacted the area commanders for the next three operational theaters of Krowtonan Space. They've been alerted to your presence. You will receive escorts from time to time if there are free ships available. Perhaps they might even want to meet you as many have never met a human in person. Hope things are well. Safe journey."

Val had informed Burke that he would continue Vetara's course for the Alpha Quadrant. Burke said he would try to make Val's trip across Krowtonan space as smooth as possible.

"Thank you, sir," said Val. He said the word sir in more of a friendly way as opposed to hierarchical.

"You're welcome. Remember, you're among friends when you're among the Krowtonan. Godspeed, captain."


End file.
